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Columbia  5Hnit)er$(ftp 

THE  LIBRARIES 


GIVEN  BY 

H.  Xh  Viilson 


AMERICAN  WOMEN 
AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 


AMERICAN  WOMEN 
AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 


BY 
IDA  CLYDE  CLARKE 

AUTHOR  OF  "record  NO.  33" 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1918 


GfFT  01* 
H.  W.  WILSON 
MAR  2  2  1923 


Copyright,  1918,  by 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


C553 


PEINTBD   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES   OF  AMERICA 


rl      ^ 


id 


A  poor  Scandinavian  woman  in  Iowa  cheerfully 
signed  a  food  pledge  card,  believing  it  meant  that  the 
Government  agents  would  confiscate  her  canned  fruits 
and  vegetables,  and  asking  only  for  more  time  so  that 
she  could  get  more  done  for  her  country.  To  this 
patriotic,  self-sacrificing  woman,  and  to  many,  many 
others  in  quiet  homes,  far  from  the  vast  sweep  of  the 
world's  tragic  events,  whose  names  do  not  appear  in 
this  or  any  other  written  record,  I  dedicate  this  book. 


FOREWORD 

The  purpose  of  this  booK  is  twofold:  first,  to  dis- 
cover to  American  women  themselves  their  tre- 
mendous opportunities  and  responsibilites  in  the 
present  world  conflict;  second,  to  record  in  a  form 
that  is  in  some  degree  permanent  the  actual  begin- 
nings of  the  greatest  massed  effort  of  women  the  world 
has  ever  known.  History  has  not  been  attempted,  be- 
cause history  has  not  yet  been  made;  events  of  en- 
gaging interest,  often  of  international  import,  follow 
each  other  with  lightning-like  rapidity,  and  scarcely 
can  a  situation  be  described  before  one  more  vital, 
more  interesting,  develops.  But  if  this  book  shall 
serve  as  an  inspiration,  or  shall  form  the  ground- 
work of  a  future  history  of  woman's  part  in  the  war, 
one  of  its  chief  purposes  will  have  been  accomplished. 

I  wish  particularly  to  emphasize  one  fact.  The 
basis  of  the  story  I  have  used  of  the  work  in  the  vari- 
ous states  is  the  organization  of  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee of  the  Council  of  National  Defense.  In  every 
state,  the  work  of  individual  organizations  has  been 
of  supreme  value — the  Federated  Clubs,  Daughters  of 
the  American  Revolution,  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association,  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 
Congress  of  Mothers  and  Parent-Teachers  Associa- 
tion, Council  of  Jewish  Women,  National  League  for 
Woman's  Service,  and  scores  of  other  great  organiza- 
tions of  women  have  worked  intelligently,  unceas- 
ingly, and  to  fine  purpose,  in  every  state.    But  in  each 

vii 


FOREWORD 

case  I  have  sought  information  only  from  the  State 
Chairman  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense,  because  this  Committee  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  and  was 
charged  with  the  duty  of  coordinating  the  war  work 
of  existing  organizations  of  women,  and  therefore  its 
authority  and  its  pro\dnce  are  not  to  be  questioned. 
AVhere  reports  from  the  states  seem  to  be  brief  or 
inadequate,  it  does  not  signify  any  lack  of  patriotism 
or  enthusiasm  either  on  the  part  of  individual  or- 
ganizations or  individual  women.  It  usually  means 
that,  because  of  some  uncontrollable  local  condition, 
organization  of  the  W'oman's  Committee  was  delayed, 
or  that  the  State  Chairman  was  ''too  busy  doing 
things  to  write  about  them.'* 

The  book  was  made  possible  because  of  the  unfailing 
courtesy  and  the  kindly  personal  interest  of  the  offi- 
cials of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense  and  the  Committee  on  Public  Infor- 
mation, of  which  Mr.  George  Creel  is  Chairman 
and  Mrs.  Clara  Sears  Taylor  Director  Division  of 
Woman's  War  Work.  These  and  other  national 
centers  of  war  activities  in  Washington  were  always 
open  to  me,  and  to  them  as  well  as  to  hundreds  of 
women  from  Maine  to  California,  I  wish  to  make 
grateful  acknowledgment. 

As  an  American  woman,  I  feel  a  sense  of  distinct 
pride,  of  high  privilege,  in  presenting  to  the  public 
this  wonderful  story— a  story  transcribed  by  me  but 
written  in  golden  deeds  by  twenty  million  loyal- 
hearted  women  in  every  state  of  our  great  American 
Union. 

Ida  Clyde  Clarke. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 
THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    Introductory 3 

II  The  Woman's  Committee  Created  .  .  17 
The  creation  of  the  Woman's  Committee 
— Its  purpose,  as  set  forth  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  War — Its  general  plan  of  or- 
ganization and  operation — Some  of  its 
early  activities. 

III  Organization 35 

The  current  of  inspiration  is  turned  on 
from  the  Woman's  Committee  at  Wash- 
ington— Wheels  of  organization  begin 
to  turn  in  the  States — A  model  town — 
General  plan  of  work  adopted  by 
Woman's  Committee. 

IV  Registration 44 

Registration  of  America's  woman  power 
begun  by  many  private  organizations — 
Confusion  results — That  taken  by  the 
Woman's  Committee  recognized  as  of- 
ficial by  Government — All  organizations 
then  cooperate  for  common  good  and 
work  proceeds  throughout  the  nation. 

V    Food  Conservation 61 

Food  production — Food  conservation 
and  home  economics — "Food  will  win 
the  war,"  says  Mr.  Hoover — Gigantic 
task  is  assigned  to  women — Back  yard 
gardens  yield  crop  valued  at  $350,000,- 
000 — Secretary  Houston's  appeal — Mr. 
Pack's  great  work. 
ix 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PACK 

VI    Child  Welfare 74 

Children's  Bureau  under  Miss  Julia 
Lathrop — General  Federation  of  Wom- 
en's Clubs  and  other  organizations  in- 
tensify work  in  interest  of  Nation's  chil- 
dren— Women  work  to  make  Federal 
Child  Labor  Law  effective — New  de- 
partment of  Children's  Bureau  under 
Miss  Abbott. 

VII    Health  and  Recreation 84 

Moral  and  physical  welfare  of  enlisted 
men  the  government's  first  consider- 
ation— Woman's  Committee,  Y.  W.  C.  A., 
and  other  organizations  assist  Com- 
mission on  training  camp  activities — 
How  women  have  helped  in  many  States. 

VIII    Patriotic  Education 95 

Nation-wide  plans  are  set  on  foot  to  in- 
duce 3,000,000  immigrants  to  attend 
night  schools — "America  First"  cam- 
paign launched — Woman's  organiza- 
tions asked  to  help — Woman's  Commit- 
tee appoints  Mrs.  Catt  Chairman  of 
Education — Foreign  women  flock  to 
night  schools  in  Chicago,  bringing  their 
babies — Volunteer  nurses  called  for. 

IX    The  Liberty  Loan 107 

More  than  1,000,000  women  subscribe  in 
first  sale  of  bonds — One-third  of  all 
Liberty  Bond  buyers  are  women — Re- 
markable campaign  of  organization  and 
education  conducted  by  Woman's  Lib- 
erty Loan  Committee,  Mrs.  McAdoo, 
Chairman. 

X    Women  in  Industry 118 

More  than  2,000,000  of  America's 
women  who  work  in  factories  deeply 
affected  by  war — Women's  Labor  Or- 
ganizations work  to  maintain  standards 
— National  League  for  Woman's  Serv- 
X 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB  PAGE 

ice  renders  valuable  aid — Value  of  this 
work  recognized  by  the  Secretary  of 
Labor — United  States  establishes  em- 
ployment agencies  throughout  the  coun- 
try— The  Gompers  Committee. 

XI    The  Red  Cross 137 

Woman's  Bureau  of  the  Red  Cross — Its 
purposes  and  plans — A  general  survey 
— Supply  service  and  Bureau  of  Stand- 
ards— Knitting,  hospital  garments,  sur- 
gical dressings,  comfort  kits,  etc. — 
Home  service — Volunteer  aids — Work 
organized  and  canteens  established  in 
France — Junior  Red  Cross — School 
fund — Red  Cross  school  activities — 
How  to  organize. 

XII    The  Red  Cross  Nurse 148 

Some  details  of  Red  Cross  work  in 
which  women  are  especially  interested — 
Fields  of  opportunity  suggested  by 
Woman's  Bureau — Nursing  service — 
Emergency  detachments — Town  and 
country  nursing — Instructions  for  knit- 
ting, comfort  kits,  hospital  garments, 
etc. — Home  Service  Institutes  in 
twenty-five  cities. 

XIII  Junior  Red  Cross 170 

The  school  fund — Red  Cross  school  ac- 
tivities— Steps  in  organization — Infant 
Welfare  Unit  for  France  financed  by 
American  women — Children's  Refuge — 
Children's  Bureau  undertakes  great 
work  in  France. 

XIV  National  League  for  Woman's  Service  181 

America's  largest  and  most  remarkable 
war  emergency  organization — Its  va- 
rious departments  and  some  details  of 
its  plans — With  branches  in  every  state 
this  organization  has  far-reaching  in- 
fluence and  is  officially  recognized. 
xi 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

PAGE 

XV    Permanent  Organization  .     . 

.     .     .  189 

How  the  great  permanent  organizations 
of  women  turned  to  war  work — General 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  Daugh- 
ters of  American  Revolution,  Colonial 
Dames,  United  Daughters  of  Confed- 
eracy, Council  of  Jewish  Women,  Y.  W. 
C.  A.,  Navy  League,  Congress  of  Moth- 
ers, etc. 


PART  II 

STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

XVI  Alabama,  Arkansas,  and  Arizona  .  .  215 
Alabama  women  quickly  perfect  organ- 
ization in  every  county — Work  financed 
by  voluntary  contnbutions — First  ac- 
tivity was  distribution  of  President's 
war  message  to  men  who  enlisted — 
Governor  proclaims  Woman's  Registra- 
tion Day — Women  work  in  Arkansas 
and  Arizona — Alaska  furnishes  inspira- 
tion to  her  sister  states. 

XVII  California,  Colorado,  and  Connecticut  223 
Heads  of  all  women's  organizations 
form  California's  Central  Committee — 
Cooperate  with  national  and  state  de- 
fense work — Women  share  in  $100,000 
defense  fund — Colorado's  organization 
unique — Women  have  equal  represen- 
tation on  State  Council — Connecticut 
furnishes  example  of  perfect  coordina- 
tion and  cooperation — State  Chairman 
gives  story  of  work — A  defense. 

XVIII    Delaware,  Florida,  and  the  National 

Capital 237 

War  work  in  Delaware  centers  in  Wil- 
mington— In  first  month  of  war  over 
1,000  community  gardens  are  planted — 
Outline  of  work  done  by  women  of 
national  capital — Ladies  of  the  Senate 
xii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

organize  to  sew  for  Red  Cross — Presi- 
dent's wife  a  contributor — Women  set 
fine  example  to  the  Nation — Florida 
women  follow  suggestions  from  Na- 
tional Woman's  Committee — Presidents 
of  State  organizations  form  Woman's 
Committee     . 

XIX  Georgia,  Idaho,  and  Illinois  ....  247 
Remarkable  work  of  Georgia  women — 
Agricultural  rallies  prove  effective — 
First  Red  Cross  diet  kitchen  in  South — 
Negro  women  work  for  negro  soldiers — 
Idaho  women  get  quick  results  in 
every  undertaking — Society  women 
pack  prunes — Illinois  fortunate  in  hav- 
ing many  prominent  women  identified 
with  defense  work — Great  work  of 
women  in  Chicago. 

XX  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  Kentucky  263 
Registration  first  consideration  of  In- 
diana women — Market  exchange  to 
be  operated  permanently — Interesting 
things  happen  in  Iowa — Kansas  organ- 
ized along  practical  lines — Women  of 
"Blue  Grass  States"  among  first  to  re- 
port perfect  and  active  organization — 
Educational  work  a  feature. 

XXI  Louisiana,  Michigan  and  Other  States  275 
Louisiana  Governor  issues  proclamation 
making  registration  of  women  compul- 
sory— Defense  work  in  Maine — Exist- 
ing organizations  in  Maryland  form 
woman's  committee — Results  amazing 
— Admirable  plan  of  organization 
adopted  in  Massachusetts — What  Bos- 
ton has  done — Michigan  women  help 
save  cherry  crop — Wayside  markets  es- 
tablished— Lavish  use  of  posters  proved 
effective — Meals  for  soldiers. 
xiii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXII    Minnesota,    Mississippi,   Missouri,   Ne- 
braska AND  Nevada 294 

Minnesota  women  cooperate  with  Public 
Safety  Commission — Perfect  coordina- 
tion in  Mississippi — Thirty  women's  or- 
ganizations unite  in  war  work — "One 
can  for  the  Government"  from  every 
woman — Missouri  adopts  unique  method 
of  food  conservation  campaign — Wom- 
an's patriotic  special  train — What  the 
women  of  Montana  are  doing — Ne- 
braska early  in  the  field  with  complete 
organization  —  Registration  accom- 
plished in  one  day — "Drying  and  Can- 
ning Week"  in  Omaha — Nevada  women 
have  various  activities. 

XXIII  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey  and  New 

Mexico 313 

New  Hampshire  follows  interesting  plan 
of  organization — State  Chairman  gives 
her  residence  as  headquarters — New 
Jersey  women  initiate  many  novel  forms 
of  patriotic  service — Canning  centers  in 
every  community — Markets  opened  all 
over  the  state — New  Mexico  furnishes  a 
thrill  to  Mr.  Hoover — Drying  food  not 
a  "lost  art"  in  that  state. 

XXIV  New  York  and  North  Carolina    .     .     .  325 

New  York  State  organizes  early  and 
plan  of  organization  is  interesting — 
— Constructive  work  for  maintaining 
home  with  present  standards  chief  con- 
cern of  State  Committee — Mayor's 
Committee  of  New  York  and  its  great 
work — Suffrage  organization  makes 
valuable  contribution  to  organization 
work — North  Carolina's  splendid  rec- 
ord. 

XXV    North  Dakota  and  Ohio 359 

W.  C.  T.  U.  and  Suffrage  Association 
initiate  war  work  in  North  Dakota — 
xiv 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Eighty  towns  completely  organized — 
Stirring  letter  from  State  Chairman — 
Work  of  women  in  cities  of  Ohio — How 
state  defense  work  is  organized — What 
women  have  done  in  Cincinnati,  Cleve- 
land and  Toledo. 


XXVI    Oklahoma,  Pennsylvania,  Oregon  and 

Rhode  Island 369 

Oklahoma  women  wide  awake — Work  to 
eliminate  commercial  waste — Efforts  in 
interest  of  families  of  enlisted  men — 
Pennsylvania's  wonderful  record  in  war 
work — Chester  County  model  for  the 
nation — Women's  organizations  in  Ore- 
gon constitute  Woman's  Committees 
— Clubwomen  active — Rhode  Island 
women  distinguish  themselves  by  taking 
military  census. 


XXVII  South  Carolina  and  Other  States  .  . 
What  the  South  Carolina  women  have 
done — State  thoroughly  organized — 
Work  in  South  Dakota  difficult — ■ 
Women  persist  and  work  valiantly  with- 
out funds — Tennessee  falls  in  line  with 
all  varieties  of  war  work — Utah  women 
specialize  on  kitchen  gardens — Texas 
women  thoroughly  organized  under  Na- 
tional League  for  Woman's  Service — 
War  work  in  Vermont. 


384 


XXVIII  Virginia,  Wisconsin,  Washington,  Etc.  396 
Personnel  of  Virginia  Committee — Na- 
tional League  for  Woman's  Service  and 
Woman's  Committee  work  effectively  in 
Washington — D.  A.  R.  and  Suffrage 
Association  in  Wisconsin  cooperate  in 
Americanization — Vocational  emergency 
education — Wyoming  Woman's  Com- 
mittee encourages  garden  planting — 
Acreage  increased  150  per  cent. — Every 
XV 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

county  organized — Many  things  done  in 
West  Virginia — Every  woman's  organ- 
ization cooperating. 


PART  III 

WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

XXIX    The  Federal  Council 411 

The  Federal  Council  and  some  of  its  co- 
operating committees — National  Allied 
Relief — Great  bazaars  of  New  York, 
Boston  and  Chicago — "Alley  Festa" 
of  1917 — International  Reconstruction 
League — American  Fund  for  Fatherless 
Children  and  Munition  Workers — 
Women's  Hospitals — National  Surgical 
Dressings  Committee — American  Wom- 
en's War  Relief — Stage  Women's  War 
Relief — American  Ambulance,  Millinery 
Branch — Statement  about  "Godmother- 
ing." 

XXX    Vacation      Association,      Needlework 

Guild  and  Other  Agencies  .  .  .  422 
Organization  and  growth  of  Vacation 
Association  War  Relief — Flotilla  Com- 
mittee and  its  wonderful  work — Militia 
of  Mercy — Needlework  Guild  of  Amer- 
ica— Committee  for  Men  Blinded  in 
Battle — Emergency  Aid  of  Pennsyl- 
vania— Committee  of  Mercy  and  its  con- 
tribution of  over  $2,000,000— Hudson 
River  War  Relief — League  of  the  Al- 
lies— League  of  Catholic  Women — 
Mercy  Committee  of  New  Jersey. 

XXXI    Special  Aid  Society,  and  Work  of  Jew- 
ish Women 433 

National  Special  Aid  Society — Trench 
Comforts    Packet    Committee — Artists* 
xvi 


CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 

Committee  of  One  Hundred — White 
Cross  Guard  movement — Southern 
Women's  Patriotic  Committee — Phy- 
sicians, Surgeons  and  Dentists'  Fund — 
Council  of  Jewish  Women  and  some  of 
its  cooperating  organizations — Joint 
Distribution  Committee  of  Fund  for 
Jewish  War  Sufferers — Zionist  organ- 
izations— Authors'  League  fund. 


PAQB 


XXXII    Relief  for  Belgium 446 

American  relief  work  for  Belgium — 
American  Committee  for  War  Charities 
of  Queen  of  Belgium — Sou  du  Mutile — 
Committee  for  Relief  of  Belgian  Pris- 
oners in  Germany — Ouvre  Beige  du 
Lait  pour  les  Petits — La  Sante  de  VEn- 
fance — Mayfair  War  Relief — Millicent 
Sutherland  Ambulance — King  Albert's 
Civilian  Hospital  Fund. 


XXXIII    Relief  Work  m  France 453 

American  women  who  have  given  gen- 
erously of  their  time  and  means — Wliat 
the  American  Canteen  means  to  the  sol- 
diers— American  Relief  Clearing  House 
— War  Relief  Clearing  House  for 
France  and  her  Allies — American  Am- 
bulance Hospital  in  Paris — Committee 
for  Training  Maimed  Soldiers — Edith 
Wharton's  war  charities — Le  Paquet  du 
Soldat. 


XXXIV    Relief  for  France 466 

American  Fund  for  French  Wounded — 
Funds  for  Heroes  of  France  and  her 
Allies — French  Heroes  Fund — Blind 
Relief  Fund — Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts — 
Union  des  Arts — Comite  Franco- 
Americain — American  Girls  Aid — Fath- 
xvii 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

eriess  Children  of  France — American 
Distributing  Service — War  Babies* 
Cradle— Children's  Fund  for  Kiddies* 
Kits — Relief  for  Liberated  Villages  of 
France. 


XXXV    Relief  FOR  France 480 

American  Ice  Flotilla  Committee  raised 
more  than  $100,000  in  1917— American 
Field  Service  in  France — Appui  aux 
Artistes — Mrs.  Stuyvesant  raises  more 
than  $20,000  through  "One  Dollar  Fund" 
— Duryea  Relief — Franco-American 
Committee — American  Branch  French 
Actors'  Fund — French  Bureau — French 
Tuberculosis  War  Victims'  Fund — 
Hospital  Under  Three  Flags — Lafayette 
Fund — Le  Bien-Etre  du  Blesse — Se- 
cours  de  Guerre — Seeours  National. 


XXXVI    Relief  for  Great  Britain 


490 


Relief  work  for  Great  Britain — ^British- 
American  Relief  Fund — Receipts 
amount  to  over  $164,000 — British  War 
Relief  Association — Chelsea  War  Re- 
fugees' Fund — American  Branch  Lord 
Beresford's  Fund — Lady  Helmsley's 
Fund — London  Motor  Volunteer  Corps 
— American  Auxiliary  Woman's  Health 
Association  of  Ireland — Shamrock 
Fund — Scottish  Highlanders  Relief  As- 
sociation— Queen  of  Roumania  Fund — 
New  England  Italian  War  Relief. 


XXXVII    Relief  for  Poland  and  Russia    .     .     . 

Poland's  pathetic  appeal — Madame  He- 
lena Paderewski  joins  her  husband  in 
relief  for  native  land — Polish  Central 
Relief — Americans  seek  to  relieve  dis- 
tress in  Russia — Lithuanian  War  Re- 
lief Committee — Armenian  and  Syrian 
Relief — Serbian  Relief  Committee, 
xviii 


497 


CONTENTS 

PART  IV 

A  DIRECTORY  OF  LEADING  WOMEN'S  ORGAN- 
IZATIONS DOING  DEFENSE  WORK 

PAGE 

General  Officers 515 

Division  of  Women's  War  Work  of  the 
committee  on  public  information — 
Woman's  Committee  of  the  council  of 
national  defense — American  Red  Cross 
— Bureau  of  nursing — Division  direc- 
tors of  women's  work — General  federa- 
tion of  women's  clubs — Daughters  of 
the  American  Revolution — Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union — Young 
Women's  Christian  Association:  War 
Work  Council — National  Congress  of 
Mothers  and  Parent-Teachers'  Associa- 
tion— Council  of  Jewish  Women — 
United  States  Employment  Service. 

State  Directory 624 


PART  I 
THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTORY 

American  women  of  the  year  1917  are  no  braver, 
no  more  patriotic,  no  more  self-sacrificing  than  women 
have  been  in  all  wars  of  all  times.  ''Earth's  women 
of  every  generation  have  faced  suffering  and  death 
with  an  equanimity  that  no  soldier  on  a  battlefield 
has  ever  surpassed  and  few  equaled,"  says  Olive 
Schreiner,  ''and  where  war  has  been  to  preserve  life, 
or  land,  or  freedom,  rather  than  for  aggrandizement 
and  power,  unparasitized  and  laboring  women  have 
in  all  ages  known  how  to  bear  an  active  part,  and  die. 

The  spirit  of  Florence  Nightingale  and  Clara  Bar- 
ton lives  today  in  the  Red  Cross — kindled  into  a 
flame  of  love  that  warms  the  heart  of  the  whole  world. 
It  is  said  that  the  calm  and  poise  with  which  Martha 
Washington  met  the  great  crisis  in  her  life  was  in  a 
measure  due  to  her  constant  habit  of  knitting;  and 
her  tender  ministrations  to  the  sick  and  to  the  suf- 
fering are  part  of  the  history  of  those  memorable 
days  at  Valley  Forge.  Gay  and  frivolous  Dolly  Madi- 
son gave  "twenty  dollars  and  a  good  cow"  to  the 
first  orphanage  in  Washington  established  for  the 
children  of  the  soldiers  and  the  sailors,  and  was  the 
inspiration  and  the  staunch  supporter  of  that  institu- 
tion. 

The  Congressional  Record  of  the  United  States 
3 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

contains  the  names  of  three  women  who  distinguished 
themselves  for  bravery  in  battle  and  who  were  pen- 
sioned for  military  service.  These  were  "Molly 
Pitcher,"  Margaret  Corbin  and  Deborah  Janette. 
The  brave  deeds  of  these  women  stand  out  against 
the  background  of  history,  and  yet  no  one  doubts  but 
that  the  same  dauntless  courage,  the  same  seflessness, 
that  inspired  their  acts  lives  in  the  souls  of  thousands 
of  American  women  of  today,  waiting  only  to  be  ex- 
pressed in  action  by  the  call  of  love  or  duty.  It  is 
recorded  that  upon  report  of  Molly  Pitcher's  act  by 
General  Washington  the  Continental  Congress  voted 
her  "a  sergeant's  commission  and  half  pay  for  life." 
And  on  February  21,  1822,  an  act  passed  in  the  State 
Senate  of  Pennsylvania  gave  to  Molly  Pitcher  "The 
sum  of  forty  dollars  immediately  and  the  same  sum 
half  yearly  for  life."  In  the  British  attack  upon 
Fort  Washington,  John  Corbin  was  shot  and  killed 
while  serving  his  gun.  His  wife,  Margaret,  saw  him 
fall  and,  running  to  the  officer  in  command,  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  serve  the  gun.  Her  request  was 
granted  and  she  continued  to  serve  the  gun  until  seri- 
ously wounded.  Her  heroism  was  reported  to  the 
authorities  at  Philadelphia  and  the  State  promptly 
provided  for  her.  Later  the  Executive  Council  re- 
ferred the  case  to  the  Continental  Congress  and  on 
June  29,  1779,  there  was  this  entry,  "That  Margaret 
Corbin,  wounded  and  disabled,  while  she  heroically 
filled  the  post  of  her  husband  who  was  killed  by  her 
side  while  serving  a  piece  of  artillery,  do  receive  dur- 
ing her  natural  life,  or  continuance  of  such  disability, 
one-half  the  pay  drawn  by  a  soldier  in  the  service  of 
these  States,  and  that  she  now  receive  out  of  the  pub- 

4 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

lie  stores  one  suit  of  clothes,  or  the  value  in  money. '^ 
Deborah  Janette,  alias  Robert  Shurtleff,  was  offi- 
cially recognized  for  enlisted  service  covering  a  term 
of  years. 

When  our  hearts  beat  high  and  our  pulses  thrill 
over  Russia's  grand  old  woman,  Catherine  Breshkovs- 
kaya,  known  as  the  * '  Grandmother  of  the  Revolution, ' ' 
and  over  the  stories  that  come  to  us  of  the  *' Battal- 
ion of  Death,"  let  us  not  forget  our  own  Molly 
Pitcher  and  Margaret  Corbin  and  Deborah  Janette; 
and  let  us  not  forget  instances  of  woman's  heroism 
during  the  Civil  War — stories  that  many  of  us  have 
heard  first  hand.  If  the  so-called  ''histories"  of  the 
women  of  these  days  read,  for  the  most  part,  like 
funeral  notices,  the  charge  should  be  laid  at  the  door 
of  the  historians  and  not  to  their  subjects. 

And  still,  the  achievement  of  American  women  in 
the  world  war  of  1917  will  stand  out  in  no  shadowy 
and  uncertain  outline  against  the  background  of  the 
history  that  the  future  generations  will  read;  for 
woman's  share  in  the  nation's  task  in  this  gigantic 
struggle  for  the  freedom  of  the  races  is  to  mark  a  new 
era,  both  in  the  conduct  of  war  and  in  the  history  of 
the  woman  movement. 

There  seem  to  be  two  outstanding  reasons  why 
American  women,  more  than  the  women  of  any  other 
country,  in  the  present  war,  are  to  furnish  an  ex- 
ample to  the  world  of  woman's  efficiency  and  woman's 
power.  First,  the  fact  that  so  large  a  proportion  of 
American  women  are  organized ;  second,  the  fact  that 
the  value  of  woman's  work  in  the  prosecution  of  war 
was  immediately  recognized  by  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, and  by  individual  national  leaders.     This 

5 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

recognition  on  the  part  of  the  Government  was  ex- 
pressed in  the  prompt  creation  of  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee of  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  which, 
theoretically  at  least,  bears  the  same  relation  to  the 
main  body  as  do  the  other  sub-committees.  The 
writer  fully  agrees  with  many  of  our  national  women 
leaders  who  would  be  glad  to  see  women  more  defi- 
nitely represented  in  war  work;  who  would  like  to 
see  the  Woman's  Committee  empowered  to  initiate 
instead  of  merely  to  advise;  who  believe  that  the 
genius  of  the  women  composing  the  committee  is  prac- 
tically paralyzed  so  long  as  the  committee  is  expected 
to  act  only  in  an  advisory  capacity ;  who  would  like  to 
see  a  woman  at  the  head  of  the  conservation  depart- 
ment of  the  National  Food  Administration,  since 
women  are  the  natural  conservators  of  the  human  race ; 
who  agree  with  Helen  Ring  Robinson,  of  Colorado,  that 
''we  can  not  win  this  war  by  shutting  up  women's 
energies  in  a  garbage  can."  A  great  leader  of 
Napoleon's  day  bewailed  the  fact  that  out  of  millions 
of  people  there  could  not  be  found  two  men.  America 
was  more  fortunate.  Our  national  leaders  had  no 
difficulty  in  finding  ten  women — real  ones,  capable  of 
generaling  any  army  of  women. 

When  the  Government  created  its  war  body,  at 
least,  it  followed  the  precedent  set  by  the  Creator  of 
the  universe,  in  that  it  created  its  man  body  first  and 
made  woman  a  side  issue,  extracting  or  subtracting 
nothing  whatever  from  the  man  body  in  the  process — 
not  even  a  rib  or  a  piece  of  governmental  backbone. 
That  is  why  the  Woman's  Committee — for  all  the  in- 
telligence and  experience  and  executive  ability  that 
comprise  it — cannot  stand  alone  j  that  is  why  it  is  so 

6 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

frequently  reminded  by  its  superior  body  that  it  is 
not  expected  to  initiate  but  should  only  advise.  It 
was  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished  that  the 
Government,  having  created  the  woman  body  of  its 
war  machine,  should  have  breathed  into  it  the  breath 
of  life. 

But  out  of  the  doubts  and  questionings,  the  won- 
dering and  the  speculation,  there  looms  this  bright 
and  shining  fact,  the  Committee  was  created — the 
impulse  in  the  right  direction  was  there,  and  its  re- 
sultant act  will  be  as  a  white  guide-post  to  other  gov- 
ernments of  future  days  as  they  stand  on  the  gray 
uncertain  roads  of  destiny — a  guide  that  points  a 
straight,  ascending  way  to  a  larger,  surer  victory 
than  any  other  generation  has  achieved. 

It  would  seem  that  this  impulse  was  well  grounded, 
for  no  sooner  had  this  country  been  forced  into  the 
conflict,  than  national  leaders,  as  individuals,  began 
to  pay  high  tributes  to  the  value  of  woman's  work  in 
the  prosecution  of  war,  and  to  ask  for  the  coopera- 
tion and  assistance  of  the  women  in  formulating  the 
war  emergency  program. 

President  Wilson  pays  this  tribute  to  the  women  of 
America:  *^I  think  the  whole  country  has  appreci- 
ated the  way  in  which  the  women  have  risen  to  this 
great  occasion.  They  have  not  only  done  what  they 
have  been  asked  to  do,  and  done  it  with  ardor  and 
efficiency,  but  they  have  shown  a  power  to  organize  for 
doing  things  on  their  own  initiative,  which  is  quite  a 
different  thing  and  a  very  much  more  difficult  thing. 
I  think  the  whole  country  has  admired  the  spirit  and 
the  capacity  and  devotion  of  the  women  of  the  United 
States.     It  goes  without  saying  that  the  country  de- 

7 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

pends  upon  the  women  for  a  large  part  of  the  inspira- 
tion of  its  life.  That  is  obvious.  But  it  is  now  de- 
pending upon  the  women  also  for  suggestions  of  serv- 
ice, which  have  been  rendered  in  abundance  and  with 
the  distinction  of  originality. ' ' 

The  Secretary  of  War,  speaking  of  the  national 
plans  for  safeguarding  the  health  and  morals  of  the 
men  in  the  training  camps,  said : 

*'I  think  there  is  a  significance  in  the  fact  that  the 
department  of  the  Government  especially  charged 
with  the  making  of  war  should  appeal  to  the  women 
for  the  success  of  such  an  undertaking.  One  does 
not  ordinarily  associate  the  making  of  war  with  the 
activities  of  women.  Ordinarily,  I  think  one's  men- 
tal picture  of  women  in  a  country  at  war  portrays 
them  as  the  principal  sufferers.  And  so  I  think 
there  is  a  certain  significance,  perhaps  an  indication 
of  the  extent  to  which  our  civilization  has  gone,  when 
a  Secretary  of  War  says  to  the  women  that  the  suc- 
cess of  the  United  States  in  the  making  of  this  war 
is  just  as  much  in  the  hands  of  the  women  of  America 
as  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  soldiers  of  our  army.'' 

On  August  2,  1917,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  said : 
**In  my  opinion  the  importance  of  the  part  which 
our  American  women  must  play  in  the  successful 
prosecution  of  the  war  cannot  be  overestimated. 

*'Not  only  those  heroic  women  who,  as  Red  Cross 
nurses,  will  accompany  our  soldiers  to  France,  and 
those  who  at  home  are  devoting  their  time,  talents  and 
energies  to  work  specifically  connected  with  the  war; 
but  all  of  our  women  can  and  must  do  their  part  if 
this  war  is  to  be  brought  to  a  successful  conclusion. 
The  part  which  the  home-makers   can  do  in  their 

8 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

homes  by  careful  and  intelligent  planning,  for  the 
most  economic  and  wise  use  of  food  supplies,  is  one  of 
the  most  important  services  of  the  entire  war.  The 
question  of  food  conservation  is  one  which  we  must 
depend  upon  the  women  of  America  to  solve. 

''American  women  have  always  been  ready  to  an- 
swer the  call  of  service  and  have  cheerfully  undergone 
the  untold  sacrifices  and  burdens  which  war  places 
upon  them  so  much  more  heavily  than  upon  men. 
They  are  already  making  sacrifices  and  enduring 
hardships  with  a  spirit  which  commands  our  intense 
admiration." 

The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  June,  1917,  said : 
* '  This  war  cannot  be  won  without  the  help  of  women. 
I  do  not  mean  their  help  as  mechanics  or  laborers,  as 
farmers  or  nurses.  The  help  that  they  can  give  of 
supreme  value  is  their  moral  support,  their  spiritual 
stimulus.  Unless  our  women  feel  the  greatness  of 
the  moral  issues  involved  in  this  contest,  and  unless 
they  have  raised  their  boys  to  fight,  if  necessary,  for 
the  things  for  which  we  stand,  the  war  can  not  be 
won.  This  war  from  its  beginning  has  been  a  chal- 
lenge to  our  chivalry,  as  well  as  to  our  interests,  and 
I  think  too  little  stress  has  been  laid  upon  the  fact 
that,  in  a  time  of  such  intense  national  strain,  reli- 
ance must  be  placed  upon  the  insight  and  moral  great- 
ness of  our  women.  They  have  not  raised  their  boys 
to  be  soldiers,  but  they  have  raised  them  to  be 
chivalrous  gentlemen  who  can  not  see  the  weak  at- 
tacked and  force  acknowledged  as  the  guiding  prin- 
ciple of  civilization  without  a  burning  resentment 
and  willingness  to  champion  the  cause  of  the  weak 
and  the  maintenance  of  the  principle  of  justice. ' ' 

9 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  Honorable  George  E.  Chamberlain,  of  Oregon, 
Chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Military  Af- 
fairs, said:  "The  women  of  America  up  to  this 
day  have  been  more  active,  have  rendered  a  greater 
service,  and  have  more  carefully  fitted  themselves  for 
hardship  and  future  effort  than  ever  before  in  the 
history  of  our  country.  And  I  say  this  without  dis- 
paraging the  splendid  work  that  has  been  done  by 
our  mothers,  wives  and  sisters  in  every  prior  war. 

"One  reason  for  the  supreme  effort  that  is  being 
made  is  the  broader  recognition  that  is  given  to 
woman,  and  her  status  as  a  citizen.  She  feels  more 
at  liberty  to  act  now  in  the  sterner  affairs  of  life  than 
ever  before,  and  by  the  same  token  she  is  placed  in  a 
position  where  she  can  do  more,  and  well  she  is  per- 
forming the  allotted  task.  In  my  opinion  she  will  in 
this  war,  as  she  has  done  in  the  past  wars,  make  the 
slacker  impossible  and  drive  the  coward  to  his  duty 
at  the  front. 

"But  her  great  sphere  is  in  the  field  of  tender  ef- 
fort in  the  relief  of  the  distressed  and  the  afflicted. 
In  this  field  no  one  can  take  her  place,  and  I  look  to 
see  the  women  of  America  make  a  record  for  them- 
selves in  the  pending  war  that  will  stand  far  and 
above  the  work  of  any  organized  effort  in  the  world. ' ' 

Mr.  Lemuel  D.  Padgett,  of  Tennessee,  Chairman  of 
the  House  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  said  on  Au- 
gust 1,  1917:  "Inspired  by  purpose,  zeal,  and  en- 
thusiasm which  challenge  the  admiration  of  all  pa- 
triots, the  women  of  America  in  unison  are  working 
not  alone  for  alleviating  sufferings  and  burdens  of 
our  soldiers,  sailors  and  marines,  but  in  an  intelligent 
way  are  striving  to  place  about  the  Army  and  the 

10 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

Navy  environments  which  will  conduce  to  improved 
military  morale  and  efficiency  of  our  fighting  forces 
and  place  the  Army  and  Navy  upon  a  higher  standard. 
Moreover,  their  zeal,  enthusiasm  and  unity  of  pur- 
pose in  their  ideals  and  work  are  an  inspiration  to 
the  whole  nation/' 

In  a  letter  to  the  writer  dated  August  7,  1917, 
Surgeon-General  Rupert  Blue,  of  the  United  States 
Public  Health  Service,  said:  *' Personally,  I  do  not 
believe  the  value  and  importance  of  woman's  work 
in  the  present  struggle  can  be  overestimated.  Of 
course,  it  will  be  only  a  few  of  our  women  who  w^ill 
be  so  fortunate  as  to  have  the  opportunity  of  render- 
ing service  at  the  front,  so  that  in  the  front  ranks  of 
the  women  workers  we  must  place  those  nurses  of  the 
American  Red  Cross  and  of  the  Army  medical  service 
w^ho  will  minister  to  the  wounded  at  the  base  hospitals 
in  Prance. 

*'But  there  will  also  be  important  work  for  those 
of  the  nursing  profession  who  remain  in  this  country. 
The  public  health  nursing  to  be  performed  by  private 
and  Red  Cross  nurses  under  federal,  state  and  local 
health  authorities  must  be  continued  throughout  the 
war  in  order  that  the  sanitary  balance  may  not  be 
disturbed.  Child  welfare  work,  especially  in  the 
families  of  soldiers  who  are  at  the  front,  should  not 
only  be  continued,  but  extended  wherever  possible. 

"Women  physicians  might  also  be  employed  for 
service  at  convalescent  hospitals  at  home  in  the  treat- 
ment of  soldiers  who  have  been  returned  on  account 
of  chronic  conditions,  in  this  way  relieving  medical 
men  for  service  at  the  front. 

*' There  will  also  be  many  positions  in  civil  life 
11 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

which  can  be  filled  by  women,  thus  releasing  men  for 
war  service.  The  work  that  has  been  accomplished 
by  the  women  of  our  allies  in  business  and  industrial 
lines  stands  as  a  wonderful  demonstration  of  the  abil- 
ity of  woman  to  'do  her  bit'  in  this  direction. 

''And  for  the  many  without  business  or  profes- 
sional training,  or  for  the  spare  moments  of  those 
who  have  family  duties  or  are  self-supporting,  there 
remains  the  great  work  of  collecting  and  distributing 
useful  articles  for  our  soldiers  and  sailors.  Through 
the  many  organizations  being  conducted  for  this  pur- 
pose, there  will  be  work  for  all." 

There  can  not  be  the  slightest  doubt  that  such  senti- 
ments as  these,  coming  from  the  men  who  are  guiding 
the  nation 's  affairs  in  the  greatest  crisis  of  its  history, 
have  had  a  most  stimulating  effect  upon  the  women 
of  the  country. 

As  it  is  given  to  comparatively  few  men  to  serve 
as  officers  in  the  front  ranks  of  our  armies  on  the 
battle  fronts,  so  it  is  given  to  but  few  of  our  women 
to  lead  in  the  battles  we  in  the  home  ranks  must  fight. 
But  to  the  "dove-colored  women"  in  the  quiet  homes, 
far  from  the  tragic  sweep  of  the  world 's  great  events, 
will  belong  a  share  in  the  honor  of  the  final  victory 
just  as  surely  as  that  honor  will  be  shared  by  the  pri- 
vate soldier  in  the  ranks  who  offers  his  life  for  a  cause 
that  is  just. 

It  would  be  well  for  the  women  in  the  millions  of 
average  American  homes,  and  it  would  be  well  for 
their  country,  if  they  could  come  into  a  full  appre- 
ciation of  how  much  their  individual  effort  adds  to 
the  final  sum  of  our  national  effort.  It  is  because  of 
these  women  and  their  patriotic  interest  that  the 

12 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

National  Commercial  Economy  Board  was  able  to  an- 
nounce at  the  end  of  a  few  months  that  the  campaign 
for  the  elimination  of  waste  bread  had  resulted  in  a 
saving  of  enough  bread  each  day  to  feed  a  million 
people.  It  was  because  of  their  patriotic  interest 
that  crops  to  the  value  of  $350,000,000  were  raised  in 
back  yard  gardens  in  1917.  It  was  because  of  their 
patriotic  interest  that  Mr.  Davison,  head  of  the 
American  Red  Cross,  said  that  the  value  of  garments 
made  by  American  women  for  troops  abroad  in  1917 
was  valued  at  over  $36,000,000.  And  it  will  be  be- 
cause of  the  patriotic  interest  of  these  average  Ameri- 
can women,  who  may  be  tempted  sometimes  to  believe 
that  they  lack  the  opportunity  to  serve,  that  the  final 
victory  will  come,  and  that  peace  will  reign  in  the 
whole  world.  It  would  indeed  be  well  if  the  very 
humblest  of  American  women  could  realize  how  im- 
portant a  part  they  have  to  play  in  the  great  world 
tragedy  of  today.  There  comes  to  mind  this  picture 
of  the  charwoman  sketched  by  the  pen  of  Arnold 
Bennett :  ' '  The  wind  played  with  the  gray  wisps  of 
her  hair  and  with  her  coarse  brown  apron,  beneath 
which  her  skirt  was  pinned  up.  Human  eyes  seldom 
saw  her  without  a  coarse  brown  apron.  Itself  and  a 
pail  were  the  insignia  of  her  vocation.  She  was  ac- 
complished and  conscientious.  She  could  be  trusted. 
She  was  thoroughly  accustomed  to  the  supreme  spec- 
tacles of  birth  and  death  and  could  assist  thereat 
with  dignity  and  skill.  She  could  turn  away  the 
wrath  of  rent  collectors,  rate  collectors,  school  in- 
spectors, and  magistrates.  She  was  an  adept  in  en- 
ticing an  inebriated  husband  to  leave  a  public  house. 
She  could  feed  four  children  and  do  it  on  seven  pence 

13 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

and  rise  calmly  to  her  feet  after  having  been  knocked 
down  by  one  stroke  of  a  fist.  She  could  go  without 
food,  sleep,  or  love,  and  yet  thrive.  She  could  give 
when  she  had  nothing  and  keep  herself  sweet  in  the 
midst  of  every  contagion.  She  had  never  had  a  holi- 
day and  almost  never  failed  in  her  duty.''  There 
are  many  women  like  that  in  America,  and  these  also 
constitute  a  valuable  national  asset. 

In  every  state  in  the  Union  women  of  the  highest 
type,  experienced  in  dealing  with  people  and  skilled 
in  leadership,  have  given  of  themselves  freely  as  vol- 
unteer workers  in  America's  great  army  of  women. 
That  is  why  the  war  work  in  the  different  states  is 
so  varied  and  so  interesting;  it  reflects  the  ideals  of 
the  best  and  the  bravest  of  our  women,  and  empha- 
sizes what  is  most  important  in  their  respective 
fields. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  reports  are  incomplete 
from  many  of  the  states,  but  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that,  even  while  the  material  for  this  book  is 
being  collected,  little  children  crowd  together  at  a 
roadside  at  the  end  of  a  dreary  day  in  France  and 
watch  a  long  khaki-colored  line  crawl  toward  them. 
A  woman  pushes  a  little  girl  forward,  and  in  the  gray 
mist  she  hangs  a  wreath  of  bright  colored  flowers  on 
a  mud-bespattered  American  gun  !  For  today  Ameri- 
can boys  are  having  their  first  baptism  of  German 
fire  in  front  line  trenches  on  the  battle  front ! 

Soon  after  ]\Ir.  Hoover  came  to  America  after  his 
great  work  as  the  head  of  the  Commission  for  Relief 
in  Belgium  he  said:  ''America  is  only  beginning  to 
allow  the  awful  burden  of  suffering  and  destitution  to 
rest  upon  her  conscience."    Between  this  day  and 

14 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

the  day  upon  which  those  words  were  spoken  less 
than  a  year  has  elapsed,  and  yet  Mr.  Hoover  would 
doubtless  be  the  last  person  to  say  them  now. 

The  story  of  the  great  relief  work  undertaken  and 
accomplished  by  the  American  people  is  the  greatest 
story  of  the  kind  that  has  ever  been  written  into  any 
history  of  any  time.  At  one  time  in  the  fall  of  1917 
there  were  in  progress  in  America  fourteen  national 
campaigns  in  the  interest  of  raising  money  for  war 
relief  work  in  foreign  lands  and  among  our  own 
troops  for  the  year  1918.  The  funds  sought  in  these 
various  campaigns  for  purposes  of  war  aggregated 
more  than  $300,000,000,  and  not  one  failure  has  yet 
been  recorded.  The  latest  available  figures  show  that 
total  funds  raised  for  foreign  relief  in  America  up  to 
1918  amounted  to  more  than  $20,000,000,  and  that  sup- 
plies have  been  shipped  valued  at  more  than  $10,000,- 
000,  making  a  total  of  $30,000,000 !  That  looks  as  if 
America  is  awake.  Over  five  thousand  different  or- 
ganizations and  branch  organizations  are  doing  war 
work,  and  more  than  two  million  persons  are  ac- 
tively enlisted  as  members  of  these  organizations. 
These  figures,  impressive  as  they  are,  do  not  begin  to 
represent  the  magnitude  of  the  activities  carried  on 
by  the  allied  war  relief  organizations  in  America. 
"While  they  are  not  given  as  final  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
they  underestimate  rather  than  overestimate  the  funds 
raised  and  the  value  of  supplies  sent  abroad.  In  all 
of  this  work  women  have  had  an  important  share. 
Again  I  quote  from  Olive  Schreiner's  classic, 
"Woman  and  War":  ''.  .  .  On  this  one  point,  and 
on  this  point  almost  alone,  the  knowledge  of  woman, 
simply  as  woman,  is  superior  to  that  of  man;  she 

15 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

knows  the  history  of  human  flesh ;  she  knows  its  cost ; 
he  does  not.  .  .  .  We  have  in  all  ages  produced,  at 
an  enormous  cost,  the  primal  munition  of  war,  with- 
out which  no  other  would  exist.  There  is  no  battle- 
field on  earth,  nor  ever  has  been,  howsoever  covered 
with  slain,  which  has  not  cost  the  women  of  the  race 
more  in  actual  bloodshed  and  anguish  to  supply,  than 
it  has  cost  the  men  who  lie  there.  We  pay  the  first 
cost  on  all  human  life.'' 

Although  it  is  far  too  early  to  write  even  the  first 
chapter  of  America's  part  in  the  present  conflict,  the 
brief  outline  of  what  American  women  are  trying  to 
do,  as  given  in  this  book,  should  stimulate  the  pride 
and  stir  the  ambition  of  every  loyal  American,  to  the 
end  that  the  superstructure  of  this  remarkable  work 
should  be  as  great  and  as  enduring  as  its  foundation 
justifies. 


CHAPTER  II 

WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE  CREATED 

The  creation  of  the  Woman's  Committee — Its  purpose,  as 
set  forth  by  the  Secretary  of  War — Its  general  plan  of 
organization  and  operation — Some  of  its  early  activities 

America  was  the  first  country  in  the  world  to  give 
formal  official  recognition  to  women  in  the  construc- 
tion of  its  war  machine,  and  to  recognize  immediately, 
upon  a  declaration  of  war,  its  woman  power  as  one  of 
its  most  valuable  assets. 

On  April  21,  1917,  fifteen  days  after  Congress 
formally  declared  that  a  state  of  war  existed  between 
this  country  and  Germany,  the  Council  of  National 
Defense  gave  out  this  statement:  **Eealizing  the 
inestimable  value  of  woman  ^s  contribution  to  national 
effort  under  modern  war  conditions,  the  Council  of 
National  Defense  has  appointed  a  committee  of 
women  of  national  prominence  to  consider  and  advise 
how  the  assistance  of  the  women  of  America  may  be 
made  available  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  These 
women  are  appointed  as  individuals  regardless  of  any 
organizations  with  which  they  may  be  associated. 
The  body  will  be  known  as  the  Committee  on  Women 's 
Defense  Work.  Its  membership  is  as  follows:  Dr. 
Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Chairman;  Mrs.  Philip  N. 
Moore,  of  St.  Louis,  President  of  the  National  Coun- 
cil of  Women;  Mrs.  Josiah  E.  Cowles,  of  California, 

17 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

President  of  the  General  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs ;  Miss  Maude  Wetmore,  of  Rhode  Island,  Chair- 
man of  the  National  League  for  Woman's  Service; 
Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  of  New  York,  President 
of  the  National  American  Woman  Suffrage  Organiza- 
tion ;  Mrs.  Antoinette  Funk,  of  Illinois ;  Mrs.  Stanley 
McCormick,  of  Boston;  Mrs.  Joseph  R.  Lamar,  of 
Atlanta,  Georgia,  President  of  the  National  Society  of 
Colonial  Dames ;  Miss  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  of  New  York, 
Publicist  and  Writer."  At  a  later  meeting  the  name 
of  Miss  Agnes  Nestor,  of  Chicago,  President  of  the 
International  Glove  Workers'  Union,  was  added. 
And  early  in  October,  1917,  the  Council  of  Defense 
notified  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  appointment 
of  Miss  Hannah  Jane  Patterson,  as  the  eleventh  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee.  Miss  Patterson  immediately 
assumed  the  duties  of  resident  director.  The  women 
composing  this  committee  are,  without  exception, 
women  of  distinction  in  their  respective  lines  of  pub- 
lic work,  and  this  wholly  unsought  and  unexpected 
call  to  volunteer  national  service,  involving  as  it  did 
sacrifice  and  added  responsibilities,  found  them  in  the 
midst  of  the  performance  of  their  individual  duties. 
Dr.  Shaw  was  congratulated,  at  the  close  of  a  lecture 
she  had  given,  on  the  new  honor  that  had  come  to  her, 
and  she  had  to  ask  what  that  honor  was,  as  she  had 
not  received  the  telegram  announcing  her  appoint- 
ment. There  was  no  ''slacker"  among  them.  Every 
one  answered  ''Present." 

The  governmental  authority  of  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee is  unquestioned.  The  Council  of  National  De- 
fense is  a  body  authorized  by  Act  of  Congress  in 
August,  1916,  consisting  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 

18 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  the  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior, the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  the  Secretary  of 
Commerce,  and  the  Secretary  of  Labor.  This  Coun- 
cil was  directed  to  nominate  to  the  President,  and  the 
President  to  appoint  an  Advisory  Commission  of  not 
more  than  seven  persons,  believed  to  be  especially 
qualified  to  assist  in  its  work.  The  purpose  of  the 
Council  of  National  Defense  is  the  coordination  of 
industries  and  resources  for  the  national  security  and 
welfare  and  the  creation  of  a  new  and  direct  channel 
of  intercourse  and  cooperation  between  men  and 
women  and  all  departments  of  the  Government.  The 
Council  has  power  to  organize  subordinate  bodies  and 
committees.  The  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  National  Defense  is  such  a  creation.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  Committee  is  to  coordinate  the  activities 
and  the  resources  of  the  organized  and  unorganized 
women  of  the  country,  that  their  power  may  be  im- 
mediately utilized  in  time  of  need,  and  to  supply  a 
new  and  direct  channel  of  communication  and  co- 
operation between  women  and  governmental  depart- 
ments. 

All  government  departments  are  open  to  the 
Woman's  Committee.  Experts  of  these  departments 
are  advisors  of  the  Committee,  and  through  the  Com- 
mittee go  out  to  women,  direct,  the  prompt  and  au- 
thoritative requests  and  information  which  the  Gov- 
ernment wishes  to  pass  on  to  them.  The  members 
of  the  Committee  serve  without  compensation.  The 
Council  of  National  Defense  provides  headquarters, 
an  executive  secretary,  clerical  help  and  franking 
privilege.  The  headquarters  provided  by  the  Gov- 
ernment are  at  1814  N  Street,  N.  W.,  Washington, 

19 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

D.  C.  This  was  formerly  the  Playhouse  Club  and 
Theater  and  is  owned  by  Mrs.  Henrietta  M.  Holliday, 
who  had  previously  offered  it  to  the  Government,  rent 
free,  to  be  used  during  the  war  in  helping  to  relieve 
the  congestion  which  national  defense  work  had 
caused. 

Shortly  after  the  Woman's  Committee  was  created 
the  Secretary  of  War,  who  is  chairman  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense,  wrote  to  Dr.  Shaw  as  follows : 

The  creation  of  the  Advisory  Committee  on  Women's  De- 
fense Work  was  prompted  by  an  appreciation  on  the  part 
of  the  Council  of  the  very  valuable  service  that  the  women 
of  the  country  can  and  are  anxious  to  render  in  the  na- 
tional defense,  and  the  desire  to  estabhsh  some  common 
medium  through  which  the  Council  might  be  brought  into 
closest  touch  with  them  and  into  the  fullest  utilization  of 
their  services. 

Prior  to  the  formation  of  the  Women's  Advisory  Com- 
mittee, a  great  variety  of  work  had  already  been  undertaken 
by  various  organizations  of  women  throughout  the  country 
independently  of  each  other;  much  of  which  work  was,  in 
part  at  least,  in  duplication  of  efforts  undertaken  by  other 
organizations,  and  the  Council  determined  upon  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Women's  Advisory  Committee  in  order  that  this 
constructive  effort  might  be  coordinated  and  directed,  du- 
plication being  avoided  and  valueless  work  discouraged 
through  its  activities.  Primarily,  of  course,  the  Committee 
on  Women's  Defense  Work  is  an  Advisory  Committee  to 
the  Council,  as  are  all  other  committees  created  under  the 
Council. 

The  Council  of  National  Defense  is  charged  with  the  re- 
sponsibihty  of  taking  whatever  action  is  deemed  wise  upon 
consideration  of  the  best  advice  obtainable  from  all  sources, 
and  the  power  to  take  affirmative  action  beyond  the  mere 

20 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

advisory  coordinations  which  can  be  brought  about  through 
persuasive  and  explanatory  means,  rests  in  the  several  offi- 
cers of  the  Government  whose  duties  are  made  definite 
by  law  and  are  duties  which  cannot  be  delegated.  The 
Women's  Advisory  Committee,  therefore,  should  consider 
plans  and  projects  of  all  kinds  which,  in  their  judgment, 
would  be  effective  in  the  coordination  of  the  activities  of 
women  harmoniously  with  the  needs  and  aims  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. Such  plans  and  undertakings  as  meet  with  the 
approval  of  the  Women's  Advisory  Committee  should 
thereupon  be  reported  with  that  approval  to  the  Council. 
When  the  Council  approves  such  a  project,  it  will  select 
an  agency  for  its  execution;  that  is  to  say,  if  the  project 
is  one  which  can  be  executed  best  through  one  of  the  estab- 
lished Governmental  agencies,  the  Council  will  indicate 
that  agency,  place  it  in  cooperative  relations  with  you  and 
direct  it  to  carry  out  the  plan.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
project  is  one  which  can  best  be  carried  forward  by  some 
particular  voluntary  or  unofficial  agency,  or  is  such  a 
project  as  in  the  opinion  of  the  Council  could  most  effec- 
tively be  pursued  by  the  independent  action  of  the  Women's 
Advisory  Committee,  that  course  will  be  indicated. 

I  realize  that  this  letter  is  necessarily  somewhat  indefi- 
nite, since  it  must  deal  in  general  phrases  with  varying, 
complicated  and  different  situations.  In  general,  however, 
I  think  it  states  the  relationship  which  the  law  establishes 
between  the  Committee  and  the  Council,  and  in  the  work- 
ing out  of  this  intent,  I  feel  sure  there  will  be  found  great 
opportunity  for  initiative  on  the  part  of  the  Committee, 
and  work  which  will  be  of  high  value  to  the  country. 

With  scarcely  more  than  this  letter  to  guide  them 
the  Woman's  Committee  held  its  first  meeting  on 
May  2,  3,  4  and  5  in  Washington  and  formulated  a 
tentative  plan  of  organization  which  was  approved  by 
the  Council  of  National  Defense  and  immediately  sent 

21 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

out  to  leading  women  in  each  of  the  forty-eight  states. 
The  plan  of  organization  proposed  to  coordinate 
women's  organizations  and  their  working  forces  in 
order  to  enlist  at  once  the  greatest  possible  number  in 
the  service  which  the  national  crisis  demanded.  The 
Committee,  in  its  initial  announcement,  urged  that  no 
defense  work  of  any  kind  already  done  be  lost ;  lead- 
ers in  each  state  were  asked  to  investigate  the  work 
under  way  and  so  to  coordinate  activities  as  to  elim- 
inate duplication  and  overlapping.  It  was  realized 
that  each  state  and  city  would  find  problems  peculiar 
to  itself,  and  the  good  judgment  of  the  women  was 
relied  on  to  find  the  solution  to  these  problems.  The 
Committee  directed  attention  to  the  importance  of 
conserving  everything  useful  in  the  way  of  work  al- 
ready started  and  in  organization,  and  advised  cen- 
tralization in  the  interest  of  higher  efficiency. 

The  Committee,  at  this  first  meeting,  began  its 
work  of  organization  by  the  appointment  of  a  tem- 
porary chairman  in  each  of  the  forty-eight  states  and 
the  District  of  Columbia.  These  temporary  chairmen 
were  instructed  to  call  into  conference  at  the  earliest 
possible  date  the  presidents  or  representatives  of  all 
women's  organizations  having  state-wide  scope,  state 
branches  of  women's  national  organizations,  and  such 
individuals  as  they  cared  to  select  to  represent  the 
state  at  large  and  unorganized  women.  It  was  sug- 
gested that  the  invitation  to  participate  in  this  con- 
ference be  most  democratic,  and  that  recognition  be 
given  to  clubs,  religious  denominations,  fraternal  so- 
cieties, philanthropies,  and  patriotic  and  protective 
associations  of  all  sorts. 

The  plan  of  organization  provided  that  these 
22 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

groups,  with  committees  in  counties,  cities  and  towns, 
should  constitute  the  state  divisions,  and  become  the 
official  representatives  of  the  Women's  Committee  of 
the  Council  of  National  Defense  for  the  States.  The 
state  divisions  were  charged  with  the  duty  of  seeing 
that  all  necessary  forms  of  patriotic  service  or  of 
defense  programs,  as  outlined  by  the  National 
Woman's  Committee,  were  actively  carried  forward 
by  organizations  or  individuals.  The  state  divisions 
were  planned  to  continue  during  the  war  and  as  long 
thereafter  as  the  Council  of  National  Defense  may 
direct.  The  name  given  to  the  state  division  was 
^'Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense, [name  of  state]  Division." 

Thus,  within  a  short  time  after  it  was  created, 
the  Woman's  Committee  had  perfected  a  temporary 
working  organization  in  every  state,  and  women  were 
mobilizing  throughout  the  country  under  govern- 
mental direction. 

The  wisdom  and  foresight  of  the  women  composing 
the  Woman's  Committee  has  been  demonstrated  in  no 
more  striking  way  than  in  the  promulgation  of  this 
general  plan  of  organization  for  women's  war  work. 
With  no  precedent  to  guide  them,  and  with  little  time 
to  work  out  and  develop  ideas,  these  women,  at  their 
first  meeting,  decided  upon  a  program  which  has 
stood  the  test  of  time  and  in  the  working  out  of  which 
no  radical  changes  have  been  necessary — only  expan- 
sion and  development. 

As  later  revised  and  enlarged,  this  plan  provided 
that  each  state  division  should  elect  a  permanent 
chairman,  a  vice-chairman  or  vice-chairmen,  an  hon- 
orary vice-chairman  (if  desired),  a  secretary  and  a 

23 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

treasurer,  and  such  other  officers  as  were  found  nec- 
essary. Each  state  was  left  free  to  adopt  such  by- 
laws or  rules  as  it  found  desirable  for  the  conduct  of 
its  business.  The  elected  officers,  together  with  addi- 
tional members,  selected  by  the  division,  composed 
an  executive  committee,  authorized  to  do  business  for 
the  division  under  conditions  which  the  division  was 
expected  to  define.  Each  state  division  was  advised 
to  departmentalize  its  work  with  a  competent  chief 
or  chairman  for  each  department.  It  was  suggested 
that  the  chairmen  of  departments  be  elected  as  mem- 
bers of  the  Executive  Committee.  They  were  to  be 
selected  for  such  chairmanships  because  of  special 
fitness  or  training  for  such  work,  and  were  not  nec- 
essarily heads  of  state  organizations.  The  following 
departments  were  suggested  as  those  which  the  Com- 
mittee believed  would  prove  necessary  to  coordinate 
and  make  effective  the  work  of  the  women  of  the 
state:  Registration;  Food  Production  and  Home 
Economics;  Food  Administration;  Women  in  Indus- 
try; Child  Welfare;  Maintenance  of  Existing  Social 
Service  Agencies;  Health  and  Recreation;  Education; 
Liberty  Loan;  and  Home  and  Foreign  Relief.  It 
was  suggested  that  committees  on  finance  and  pub- 
licity be  appointed.  State  Divisions  were  asked  not 
to  appoint  chairmen  for  Food  Administration, 
Women  in  Industry,  or  Liberty  Loan,  without  con- 
sultation with  the  Woman's  Committee  in  Washing- 
ton, as  these  chairmen  were  to  work  directly  with  or 
under  national  committees  dealing  with  the  respective 
subjects. 

The  general  method  of  organization  for  a  city  or 
town  was  the  same  as  that  for  the  state.    The  officers 

24 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

of  the  state  division,  or  committee  deputized  by  it, 
were  expected  to  appoint  in  each  city  and  town  a 
competent  woman  to  serve  as  temporary  chairman. 
Her  duty  was  to  call  into  conference  the  presidents 
or  representatives  of  all  local  organizations  as  soon 
as  possible.  City  (or  town)  committees  were  formed 
composed  of  the  president,  or  one  representative,  of 
each  cooperating  organization  and  certain  women 
chosen  from  the  city  at  large.  This  committee  in  all 
towns  is  known  as  ''[name  of  town]  Unit  of  the 
Woman's  Committee."  The  committee,  in  cities  of 
over  twenty-five  thousand  population,  is  known  as 
the  *' Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National 
Defense  of  [name  of  city]."  The  city  or  town  com- 
mittees elect  their  own  officers  and  executive  and  act 
under  direction  of  the  state  division  in  all  matters 
relating  to  the  general  defense  program,  as  outlined 
in  the  departments ;  each  community  is  allowed,  how- 
ever, to  work  out  the  details  of  the  plan  in  accord- 
ance with  local  conditions. 

The  city  committees  were  urged  to  proceed  as  rap- 
idly as  possible  to  establish  auxiliary  units  in  each 
ward.  The  same  process  of  the  appointment  of  a 
temporary  chairman  as  was  followed  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  state  and  city  was  suggested  as  the  most 
promising  plan.  The  ward  organization  conference, 
however,  was  usually  a  general  meeting  of  the  women 
of  the  ward,  and  the  unit  is  composed  of  individual 
members,  the  idea  being  to  reach  all  women  of  every 
class  and  make  the  defense  program  comprehensible 
to  them. 

This  plan,  which  rapidly  began  to  operate  in  the 
various  states,  sought  to  link  together  in  complete 

25 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

working  cooperation  existing  organizations  of  women. 
The  Woman's  Committees  of  the  states  and  cities 
were  designed  to  be  a  federation  of  all  organizations 
of  women.  Women,  however,  not  members  of  any 
organization  were  entitled  to  representation  in  the 
city  and  town  committees.  For  the  benefit  of  such 
women,  freedom  to  form  or  join  other  units  was  al- 
lowed, and  they  are  eligible  to  serve  on  all  committees 
of  state,  city  or  town;  the  primary  object  being  to 
coordinate  and  make  effective  the  patriotic  service  of 
as  many  women  as  possible. 

The  advantages  of  the  plan  were  many.  By  this 
plan  no  organization  lost  its  identity;  existing  ma- 
chinery was  utilized  and  centralized ;  duplication  was 
to  a  large  extent  prevented  and  individual  effort  was 
made  more  far-reaching.  It  proposed  to  women,  not 
that  they  join  any  new  organization,  but  that  they 
work  in  self-selected  groups,  along  lines  of  their 
chosen  activities ;  no  work  was  to  be  interrupted,  but 
all  work  was  to  be  coordinated  and  directed.  Be- 
cause of  the  governmental  authority  under  which  the 
Woman's  Committee  operates,  expert  governmental 
advice  was  made  available  for  local  conditions  and 
needs.  The  state  divisions  were  to  be  financed  by 
state  funds,  when  available,  by  personal  contribu- 
tions, and  by  benefits  of  various  kinds.  Economy  of 
administration  was  a  natural  consequence  of  such  co- 
ordination and  direct  distribution  to  all  divisions 
of  authoritative  standards  and  methods.  The  head- 
quarters of  the  Woman's  Committee  serve  as  a  clear- 
ing house  of  women's  activities  throughout  the  coun- 
try, and  the  Committee  itself  is  the  agent  to  transmit 
promptly   any   demands  of   the   Government  which 

26 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

might  concern  women's  organizations.  The  plan  was 
an  elastic  one  and  each  community  was  left  free  to 
work  out  the  details  according  to  its  own  needs,  being 
asked  only  to  follow  the  general  plan  as  outlined. 

In  order  to  further  this  plan,  and  to  carry  out  the 
duty  with  which  it  was  charged,  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee, on  June  9,  1917,  issued  a  call  to  the  heads 
of  about  two  hundred  national  organizations  of 
women  to  meet  in  Washington  with  the  Woman's 
Committee  on  June  19.  The  object  of  the  conference, 
as  stated  in  the  call,  was  *'to  engage  the  understand- 
ing and  hearty  cooperation  of  all  these  organizations 
in  the  work  of  the  Woman's  Committee,  and  to  pre- 
sent the  plan  for  the  careful  coordination  of  the  work 
already  in  operation  under  the  direction  of  the  vari- 
ous organizations. '^ 

In  response  to  this  call  representatives  of  more 
than  fifty  national  organizations  of  women  met  in 
Washington  on  June  19,  1917,  and  gave  brief  reports 
of  the  work  already  under  way  or  completed. 

This  meeting,  remarkable  at  once  for  the  surprising 
variety  of  interests  it  represented  and  for  the  una- 
nimity of  sentiment  it  expressed,  was  made  further 
significant  because  it  was  then  that  the  first  definite 
task  was  imposed  upon  American  women  by  Mr. 
Herbert  C.  Hoover,  the  National  Food  Administrator. 
Mr.  Hoover  outlined  his  plan  for  enlisting  the  women 
of  the  country  in  the  first  nation-wide  food  conserva- 
tion campaign  and  asked  the  fullest  cooperation  of 
the  Woman's  Committee  in  the  development  of  this 
plan.     This  cooperation  was  heartily  pledged. 

A  number  of  national  organizations  having  given 
assurance  of  their  willingness  to  cooperate  in  everj' 

27 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

possible  way  with  the  Woman's  Committee,  the  heads 
of  these  organizations  were  appointed  to  constitute 
an  Honorary  Advisory  Committee  of  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense.  The 
personnel  of  this  committee  is  as  follows:  Mrs. 
Ethelbert  Nevin,  American  Fund  for  French 
Wounded ;  Mrs.  Lois  K.  Mathews,  Association  of  Col- 
legiate Alumnae;  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Harris,  Council  of 
Jewish  Women;  Mrs.  George  Thacher  Guernsey,  Na- 
tional Society  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution;  Mrs.  J.  Willis  Martin,  Garden  Club  of 
America;  Mrs.  Josiah  E.  Cowles,  General  Federation 
of  Women's  Clubs;  Mrs.  Emma  C.  Ocobock,  General 
Grand  Chapter  0.  E.  S.,  Eastern  Star;  Mrs.  Theo- 
dora Booth,  Girls'  National  Honor  Guard;  Mrs.  Juli- 
ette Low,  Girl  Scouts;  Mrs.  W.  H.  Brown,  Interna- 
tional Child  Welfare;  Miss  Clara  I.  Cogan,  Interna- 
tional Federation  of  Catholic  Alumnag;  Miss  Stella 
Wood,  International  Kindergarten  Union;  Kate 
Davis,  International  People's  Aid  Association;  Mrs. 
A.  J.  Ochsner,  National  Federation  of  Music  Clubs; 
Miss  Maude  Wetmore,  National  League  For  Woman's 
Service;  Mrs.  Henry  Ollesheimer,  National  League  of 
Women  Workers ;  Mrs.  Thomas  P.  Gore,  National  Li- 
brary for  The  Blind;  Miss  Anna  A.  Gordon,  Na- 
tional American  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union;  Bertha  Van  Hoosen,  M.D.,  National  Woman's 
Medical  Association,  Committee  on  War  Relief;  Mrs. 
Mary  S.  Lockwood,  National  Woman's  Press  Asso- 
ciation; Mrs.  Raymond  Robins,  National  Women's 
Trade  Union  League ;  Mrs.  J.  R.  Lamar,  National  So- 
ciety of  Colonial  Dames  of  America;  Mrs.  Robert 
Hall  Wiles,  National  Society  United  States  Daughters 

28 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

1812;  Mrs.  William  Alexander,  National  Special  Aid 
Society;  Mrs.  Kobert  E.  Speer,  National  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association;  Mrs.  Truman  H. 
Newberry,  Needlework  Guild  of  America ;  Miss  Maude 
Wetmore,  Woman's  Department  of  National  Civic 
Federation;  Mrs.  W.  P.  Thirkield,  Woman's  Home 
Missionary  Society  of  the  M.  E.  Church;  Miss  Belle 
H.  Bennet,  Woman's  Missionary  Council,  M.  E. 
Church,  South;  Mrs.  Francis  King,  Woman's  National 
Farm  and  Garden  Association;  Mrs.  George  Dewey, 
Woman's  Section  Navy  League;  Mrs.  Israel  Unter- 
berg,  Young  Woman's  Hebrew  Association; 
Woman's  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church ;  Frances  E.  Burns,  Ladies  of  the  Mac- 
cabees; Mrs.  Isaac  Pearson,  League  of  American 
Penwomen;  Mrs.  Carrie  C.  Catt,  National  American 
Woman  Suffrage  Association ;  Mrs.  Arthur  M.  Dodge, 
National  Association  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage; 
Mrs.  Frederick  Schoff,  National  Congress  of  Mothers 
and  Parent  Teachers  Association;  Mrs.  Philip  N. 
Moore,  National  Council  of  Women;  ]\Irs.  Myra  K. 
Miller,  National  Federation  of  College  Women.  All 
other  organizations  were  cordially  invited  to  cooperate 
and  thus  maintain  a  vital  affiliation  with  the  Woman's 
Committee. 

Miss  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  writing  in  the  Government 
Bulletin  of  the  status  of  woman's  war  work  at  this 
time,  gives  a  faithful  analysis  of  the  seeming  unrest 
and  uncertainty  that  was  apparent  among  women 
everywhere.     Miss  Tarbell  said: 

Quietly,  almost  unconsciously,  there  is  going  on  in  this 
country,  an  extraordinary  gathering  of  its  woman  power. 
Multitudes  of  organizations  and  of  individual  women  are 

29 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

flowing  together  in  a  great  union.  This  movement  is  a 
natural  response  to  a  need  which  was  scarcely  recognized 
until  it  was  suggested.     What  is  behind  it? 

Under  an  impelling  sense  of  the  awful  suffering  which 
the  great  war  was  causing  in  Europe  there  has  been  for 
the  last  three  years  a  constant  increase  in  the  relief  efforts 
of  women.  They  have  knitted  and  they  have  raised  money. 
They  have  formed  societies  and  occasionally  they  have 
gone  to  the  other  side  to  offer  their  services.  Probably 
the  most  important  thing  they  have  done,  however,  has  been 
to  keep  the  suffering  in  Europe  before  the  country's  eyes. 
They  have  refused  to  forget  or  let  the  world  forget. 

As  the  shadow  of  the  great  tragedy  stretched  its  dark 
lengths  toward  us,  women  everywhere  multiplied  their  ef- 
forts. Before  war  was  declared  we  had  great  organiza-. 
tions  of  women,  and  many  unorganized  groups,  offering 
themselves  for  active  service.  It  was  inevitable  that  these 
efforts,  springing  mainly  from  a  desire  to  do  something, 
and  quite  undirected  by  any  authority,  should  be  more  or 
less  wasteful.  It  was  inevitable  that  many  things  should 
be  undertaken  for  which  at  the  moment  there  was  no  need 
and  that  other  things  which  were  needed  should  be  over- 
looked. 

These  groups,  eager  for  service  and  also,  it  must  be  said, 
more  or  less  eager  to  be  leaders,  soon  ran  athwart  one 
another.  Confusion  grew  and  they  finally  began  to  appeal 
to  Washington  for  advice  and  recognition.  Out  of  this 
pressure  there  came,  naturally  and  possibly  without  much 
realization  of  what  was  being  done,  a  government  order 
that  a  central  committee  of  representative  women  should  be 
called  to  Washington  to  sit  through  the  war  and  to  do 
what  it  could  to  pull  the  woman  power  together. 

It  is  now  two  months  since  the  women  chosen,  known 
officially  as  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense,  first  met.  When  they  gathered  there  was 
more  or  less  mystification  about  what  was  wanted  of  them. 

30 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

They  were  told  that  they  were  to  act  as  a  clearing  house 
for  the  war  work  of  women.  There  was  probably  a  doubt 
in  the  minds  of  most  of  the  appointees  as  to  whether  the 
great  groups  of  women  which  were  already  in  action  would 
be  willing  to  recognize  their  authority;  but  orders  are 
orders,  and  the  Woman's  Committee  accepted  theirs. 

They  sent  out  right  and  left  all  over  the  land  a  call  to 
all  sorts  of  associations  and  societies,  no  matter  what  their 
creed,  no  matter  what  their  purpose,  no  matter  what  their 
color,  to  merge  their  war  work  under  one  direction.  What 
was  proposed  was  an  organization  so  all-inclusive  and  so 
flexible  that  not  only  the  most  powerful  organized  bodies 
would  find  themselves  at  home  in  it,  but  the  remotest 
woman  on  the  Kentucky  mountains  or  the  plains  of  the 
West. 

It  sounds  quixotic.  The  wonder  of  it  is  that  no  sooner 
had  the  call  gone  out  than  the  forces  of  the  women  began 
to  flow  together.  States  which  had  been  already  organized 
for  patriotic  services  promptly  and  cheerfully  put  them- 
selves under  the  direction  of  the  Woman's  Committee. 
Great  societies  whose  work  was  well  developed  and  which 
had  had  the  ambition  themselves  to  be  leaders  in  patriotic 
work  quickly  promised  allegiance.  That  is,  what  most  ob- 
servers probably  would  have  said  was  impossible,  immedi- 
ately began  to  happen. 

We  have  been  saying  that  we  are  not  a  nation,  but  this 
gathering  together  of  the  woman  forces  of  the  country 
seems  to  argue  an  amazing  sense  of  nationality.  Could  it 
have  happened  if  there  had  not  already  been  a  growing 
consciousness  everywhere  that  this  great  enterprise  for 
democracy  which  we  are  launching  is  a  national  affair,  and 
if  an  individual  or  a  society  or  a  state  is  going  to  do  its 
bit  it  must  act  with  and  under  the  government  at  Wash- 
ington? Nothing  else  but  some  such  sense  can  explain 
the  action  of  the  women  of  the  country  in  coming  together 
as  they  are  doing  today  under  one  centralized  direction. 

31 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

While  working  steadily  but  quietly  to  perfect  the 
organizations  in  the  various  states  and  to  coordinate 
the  efforts  of  the  existing  societies,  the  Woman's 
Committee  was  being  used  as  the  channel  through 
which  many  national  messages  were  conveyed  to  the 
women  of  America. 

One  of  the  first  things  undertaken  by  the  commit- 
tee after  its  first  meeting  was  that  of  assisting  to 
make  registration  day  on  June  5th  a  day  of  patriotic 
service  on  the  part  of  the  women  as  well  as  of  the 
men  of  the  nation.  On  May  29,  1917,  the  Committee 
sent  out  to  the  chairmen  of  the  various  State  Di- 
visions letters  urging  all  organizations  of  women  to 
utilize  that  day  for  patriotic  service  by  stationing 
women  at  each  registration  booth.  These  women 
were  asked  to  distribute  copies  of  President  Wilson's 
great  war  message  to  every  man  that  registered.  ' '  It 
is  a  well  known  fact,"  to  quote  from  this  letter,  "that 
thousands  of  men  are  fighting  in  the  armies  of 
Europe  who  have  no  well  defined  idea  of  the  causes 
which  led  their  countries  into  the  war.  Let  us  see 
to  it  that  no  man  enters  our  army  who  has  not  a  true 
understanding  of  the  ideals  which  have  led  his  coun- 
try to  take  up  arms  in  defense  of  the  things  we  hold 
dear  as  a  nation."  Women  were  urged  to  put  all 
available  machinery  to  work  at  once  to  secure  the 
distribution  of  this  message  at  every  registration 
booth  throughout  the  country.  Through  the  gener- 
osity and  cooperation  of  Mrs.  Emmons  Blaine,  of 
Chicago,  the  Woman's  Committee  was  able  to  furnish 
copies  of  the  President's  address  to  the  various  State 
Divisions.  In  this  work  the  Committee  had  the  ap- 
proval of  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of  War. 

32 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

At  frequent  intervals  during  the  trying  first  months 
of  war  the  Woman's  Committee  sent  out  helpful  and 
inspirational  letters  and  bulletins  to  the  various  state 
chairmen  and  to  their  sub-chairmen,  as  well  as  to  the 
heads  of  women's  organizations  everywhere.  It 
turned  the  full  power  of  its  organization  toward  for- 
warding the  National  Food  Administrator's  first 
drive  for  food  conservation.  It  began  very  soon  after 
its  creation  a  systematic  plan  for  registering  both  the 
volunteer  and  the  wage-earning  women  of  the  coun- 
try for  national  service.  In  cooperation  with  exist- 
ing agencies  already  at  work  to  solve  the  problem  of 
women  in  industry  it  forwarded  many  helpful  plans. 
At  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  it  put 
the  machinery  of  its  organization  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Liberty  Loan  Committee.  At  the  request  of  the 
Secretary  of  War  it  became  active  in  enlisting  the 
interest  of  women  of  the  country  in  the  effort  to 
safeguard  the  morals  of  enlisted  men  in  the  camps. 
Bulletins  were  sent  out  giving  valuable  figures  and 
information  concerning  the  cost  of  deliveries,  and  at 
the  request  of  the  National  Economy  Board  it  aroused 
the  women  of  the  country  to  a  sense  of  their  duty 
along  this  line.  As  the  fall  approached  the  Commit- 
tee interested  itself  and  sought  the  cooperation  of 
women  throughout  the  country  to  keep  the  children 
in  school.  It  also  favored  and  sent  out  broadly 
among  women  a  bulletin  from  Miss  Julia  Lathrop, 
head  of  the  National  Children's  Bureau,  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  enforcement  of  the  new  Child  Labor 
law;  with  equal  enthusiasm  the  Committee  favored 
and  worked  in  the  interest  of  the  bill  pending  in 
Congress  providing  insurance  and  indemnities  for 

33 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

our  soldiers  and  sailors.  And  it  concerned  itself  vi- 
tally with  the  questions  of  health  and  recreation  for 
men  of  the  camps. 

By  October  1,  1917,  the  Committee  had  so  far  per- 
fected its  organization  that  the  work  was  divided  into 
twelve  divisions  as  follows :  Food  Conservation ; 
Food  Production  and  Home  Economics;  Education; 
Woman  in  Industry;  Social  and  Welfare  Work; 
Liberty  Loan;  Health  and  Recreation;  Child  Wel- 
fare ;  Organization ;  Registration ;  Maintenance  of  Ex- 
isting Social  Agencies ;  Home  and  Foreign  Relief. 

The  work  of  these  divisions,  under  their  respective 
chairmen,  will  be  described  in  subsequent  chapters. 
An  account  will  also  be  given  of  how  the  plan  formu- 
lated and  promulgated  by  the  Woman's  Committee 
has  been  worked  out  and  developed  in  the  various 
states. 


CHAPTER  III 

ORGANIZATION 

The  current  of  inspiration  is  turned  on  from  the 
Woman's  Committee  at  Washington — Wheels  of  or- 
ganization begin  to  turn  in  the  states — A  model  town — 
General  plan  of  work  adopted  by  Woman's  Committee 

Having  formulated  a  general  plan  for  organizing 
the  women  of  the  country,  the  Woman 's  Committee  set 
about  to  assist  in  the  organization  of  the  various  state 
tmits.  The  plan  of  organization  left  each  state  free 
to  perfect  its  organization  in  the  way  its  leaders 
thought  best.  There  was  no  stipulated  manner  of 
doing  the  work  and  no  settled  plan  for  establishing 
headquarters.  The  state  organizations  are  financed 
in  various  ways.  In  some  instances  the  cooperating 
organizations  furnish  the  funds;  in  others  voluntary 
contributions  are  used;  in  many  places  entertain- 
ments are  given  to  raise  funds ;  and  in  several  states 
the  appropriation  of  the  State  Council  of  Defense 
covers  the  expense  of  the  women's  district  organiza- 
tion. Wliile  these  preliminary  arrangements  were 
being  made  in  the  various  states  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee was  fulfilling  its  mission  as  a  clearing  house, 
and  continued  its  efforts  toward  a  general  coordina- 
tion of  all  organized  societies  of  women,  the  states 
being  encouraged  and  stimulated  to  work  out  their 
plans  in  their  own  way. 

35 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

It  is  most  interesting  to  follow  the  work  of  the 
various  states  and  to  note  how  each  has  handled  its 
individual  problem.  Alabama  began  early  to  center 
its  efforts  on  social  service;  Connecticut  specialized 
in  medical  service;  Virginia  took  up  public  health; 
Nebraska  went  to  work  early  for  food  production  and 
conservation;  Wisconsin  did  effective  home  work  for 
county  and  town ;  Kansas,  besides  conducting  the  won- 
derful work  done  by  farmers'  wives,  was  very  active 
in  a  work  organized  by  the  wife  of  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral C.  Martin,  who  marshaled  the  women  of  her 
state  for  war  work  under  an  organization  called  the 
Military  Sisterhood;  in  Illinois  the  women  organized 
butlers  serving  wealthy  families,  culinary  experts, 
cooks'  unions,  hotel  and  club  stewards,  etc.;  prizes 
were  offered  for  the  best  wheatless,  meatless  menus, 
and  food  conservation  meetings  were  held  everywhere 
in  the  state.  Meetings  for  women  of  foreign  birth 
were  held  throughout  Illinois,  at  which  the  women 
were  taught  to  speak  and  understand  English.  They 
were  invited  to  bring  their  babies  to  the  class  and  it 
soon  became  necessary  to  ask  for  voluntary  nurses 
to  take  care  of  the  babies.  It  was  in  Chicago  that  a 
woman  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  a  flag  hos- 
pital, and  she  called  for  volunteers  to  assist  in  keep- 
ing the  flags  of  Chicago  clean  and  mended. 

The  organization  of  women  initiated  by  the 
Woman's  Committee  not  only  extended  through  the 
forty-eight  states  but  spread  to  the  entire  territory 
over  which  float  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  Mrs.  E. 
Amett  Smith,  of  Christobal,  Panama  Canal  Zone, 
was  asked  by  the  Woman's  Committee  to  represent 
the  district  in  which  she  lived  in  mobilizing  the  great 

36 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

army  of  women  for  war  work.  Porto  Rico  and  the 
Philippine  Islands  were  also  asked  to  organize.  A 
temporary  chairman  was  appointed  in  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  and  Alaska  kept  pace  with  the  other  states 
in  perfecting  its  organization  under  the  chairman- 
ship of  i\Irs.  Thomas  J.  Donohue. 

By  June  15,  1917,  six  states  had  fully  organized 
and  had  reported  permanent  chairmen.  These  states 
were  South  Dakota,  Texas,  Ohio,  Alabama,  Iowa  and 
Colorado. 

What  may  be  considered  a  mile  post  in  the  progress 
toward  the  coordination  of  the  women's  organization 
for  war  work  was  the  conference  held  in  Washington 
on  June  19,  1917,  between  the  Woman's  Committee 
of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  and  heads  of  fifty- 
nine  national  women's  societies.  The  delegates  came 
to  Washington  at  the  call  of  the  W^oman's  Committee 
to  present  their  views  to  the  end  that  war  work  might 
be  carried  on  systematically  and  harmoniously 
throughout  the  nation.  This  was  perhaps  the  most 
notable  gathering  of  women  ever  held  in  America, 
and  during  the  all-day  session  mau}^  plans  of  far- 
reaching  influence  were  initiated  and  many  valuable 
experiences  and  ideas  were  exchanged.  The  organi- 
zation of  vigilance  committees  was  suggested,  to  watch 
for  violations  of  ethical  laws  governing  labor  and  to 
prevent  the  employment  of  women  in  the  place  of 
men  at  half  the  men's  salaries.  It  was  decided  to 
oppose  any  attempts  to  annul  laws  governing  the  em- 
ployment of  women  and  children  in  industry  as  well 
as  the  exploitation  of  children.  Mrs.  Carrie  Chap- 
man Catt,  President  of  the  National  American 
Woman's  Suffrage  Association,  declared  this  to  be 

37 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  greatest  problem  of  the  war  and  made  a  strong 
plea  that  the  women  stand  for  equal  pay  for  equal 
work.  Another  important  feature  of  this  meeting 
was  the  announcement  of  the  organization  of  women 
physicians  of  the  National  Woman's  Medical  Asso- 
ciation for  maternity  service  and  to  fight  infant  mor- 
tality. Dr.  Esther  Pohl-Lovejoy,  of  Portland,  Ore- 
gon, represented  the  Association  in  Washington. 
Dr.  Love  joy  had  been  authorized  by  her  organization 
to  go  to  France  to  study  conditions  there,  and  the 
Woman's  Committee  gave  her  letters  of  introduction 
to  the  American  officials  in  France.  Dr.  Lovejoy's 
reports  from  time  to  time  to  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee and  to  her  own  society  will  form  valuable  data 
upon  which  to  base  serious  work  of  the  future,  and 
will  constitute  an  important  chapter  in  the  history  of 
the  work  of  American  women  in  the  World  War. 

Even  in  these  early  days  of  war  thousands  of 
women  were  already  mobilized  as  was  shown  by  the 
report  of  the  representatives  of  the  Needlework 
Guild  of  America,  who  stated  that  more  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  women  were  ready  to 
engage  in  war  work.  Spontaneous  pledges  of  earnest 
efforts  along  many  avenues  constituted  an  inspiring 
feature  of  that  meeting.  The  Association  of  Col- 
legiate Alumnae  reported  that  its  chief  interest  would 
lie  in  safeguarding  moral  conditions  at  the  camps, 
and  the  National  Special  Aid  Society  reported  that 
it  had  already  sent  sixty-five  nurses  to  France,  was 
giving  French  lessons  to  nurses,  training  aviators, 
and  having  books  printed  for  them  in  order  to  get 
them  into  the  hands  of  the  enlisted  men  more 
promptly.    Miss  Mabel  Boardman  reported  that  to 

38 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

that  date  the  American  Red  Cross  had  enlisted  more 
than  nine  thousand  trained  nurses.  The  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  through  its  president, 
Miss  Anna  Gordon,  reiterated  its  strong  stand  for 
national  prohibition  and  declared  its  belief  that  the 
greatest  waste  in  America  comes  from  alcoholic  bev- 
erages. The  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy 
agreed  to  care  for  the  children  of  women  engaged  in 
war  industry  by  turning  their  homes  into  day  nurser- 
ies, and  the  National  President,  Mrs.  0.  D.  Oden- 
heimer,  reported  that  some  members  had  volunteered 
to  take  as  many  as  ten  or  fifteen  children  into  their 
homes.  Mrs.  C.  Van  Rensselaer  of  the  National 
League  for  Woman's  Service  made  the  remarkable 
report  that  progress  for  constructive  preparedness 
were  under  way  in  thirty-nine  states.  Mr.  Lester 
Scott,  representing  the  Camp  Fire  Girls,  was  the  only 
man  delegate  at  the  conference.  He  said  that  more 
than  ninety-five  thousand  girls  were  cooperating  with 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  working  with  the 
Red  Cross,  adopting  Belgian  babies,  and  canning 
vegetables  and  fruits.  From  this  meeting  radiated 
in  every  direction  a  stimulating  and  powerful  influ- 
ence of  incalculable  benefit. 

As  a  further  stimulus  to  the  work  of  state  organi- 
zation the  Committee  sent  its  executive  secretary, 
Mrs.  Ira  Couch  Wood,  for  a  tour  through  the  states 
of  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Iowa, 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  with  the  view  to  the  perfection 
of  the  organization  of  the  Committee  in  these  states. 
The  survey  made  by  Mrs.  Wood  proved  interesting 
and  valuable  and  her  direct  message  from  the 
Woman's  Committee  to  the  leaders  in  these  states 

39 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

was  helpful  and  inspiring  to  them.  Later,  members 
of  the  Committee  personally  assisted  in  the  organiza- 
tion work  of  other  states,  Mrs.  Lamar  in  North  Caro- 
lina, Miss  Wetmore  in  Texas  and  Mrs.  Moore  in  In- 
diana. Not  only  did  these  women  give  their  per- 
sonal attention  to  state  organizations  when  their  as- 
sistance was  needed,  but  the  Woman's  Committee 
continually  sent  out  information  and  assistance  from 
its  headquarters  in  Washington,  leaving  nothing  un- 
done that  could  aid  the  states  in  their  work. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  example  of  prompt  and 
efficient  organization  came  from  a  thriving  and  ener- 
getic town  in  the  Middle  West.  The  men  and  women 
in  this  town  of  about  five  thousand  people  were  ani- 
mated by  the  desire  common  to  all  Americans  to  be 
of  real  service  to  the  nation.  They  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  best  way  to  begin  was  to  make  their 
community  life  as  fine  and  serviceable  and  uplifting 
as  it  could  be. 

A  democratic  group  of  representative  men  and 
women  canvassed  the  situation  thoroughly,  and  made 
up  their  minds  as  to  what,  in  general,  needed  to  be 
done  to  carry  out  their  purpose.  The  War  Emer- 
gency Union  was  formed,  the  men  choosing  certain 
lines  of  work,  the  women  certain  others.  A  joint 
committee  was  provided  for  and  headquarters  es- 
tablished in  the  Community  House,  with  a  paid  secre- 
tary and  volunteer  help.  The  men  devoted  them- 
selves to  finance,  recruiting,  drills  for  home  defense, 
food  production.  Vacant  areas  were  plowed  by  trac- 
tor and  assigned  to  citizens;  home  gardens  encour- 
aged; lectures  on  gardening  given;  and  seeds  and 
fertilizer  furnished  to  boys  and  girls,  who  were  un- 

40 


THE  WOMAN^S  COMMITTEE 

der  responsible  leadership.  They  held  organized 
sales  of  surplus  garden  produce  in  the  village, 
through  one  of  the  markets,  and  established  a  co- 
operative central  delivery  for  all  the  stores.  They 
started  an  Honor  Roll  placed  in  the  center  of  the  vil- 
lage for  all  men  entering  the  Army  and  Navy. 

On  July  4th,  on  the  village  green  there  were  re- 
produced, with  full  detail  of  costumes  and  wording, 
two  dramatic  scenes  from  American  history — ' '  Wash- 
ington Receiving  his  Sword  and  Commission  from 
the  Continental  Congress, '*  and  ''The  Signing  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. '^  Those  proved  a 
splendid  stimulant  to  patriotic  endeavor.  The  Boy 
Scout  organization  was  developed  to  great  usefulness 
and  sports  and  entertainments  for  men  at  an  adja- 
cent training  station  were  organized. 

The  women  called  together  all  the  presidents  of  the 
local  organizations  of  women  in  the  village,  and  some 
women  to  act  for  the  unorganized  women,  and  formed 
a  local  unit  of  the  Woman's  Committee,  Council 
of  National  Defense.  A  permanent  chairman  was 
elected,  who,  with  two  other  women  chosen  by  the 
central  group,  became  members  of  the  joint  commit- 
tee of  the  War  Emergency  Union. 

The  women  undertook  the  registration  of  village 
women  for  service;  then  centered  their  interest  in 
food  conservation,  which  included  lectures  and 
demonstrations  by  several  home  economics  experts 
on  all  aspects  of  food  preservation  and  substitution, 
household  and  personal  economy,  budget  making,  etc. 
All  those  lectures  were  given  in  the  Woman  *s  Club 
house,  and  were  free  to  women  in  the  village,  the 
Club  assuming  all  expenses.    Actual  canning,  dry- 

41 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ing  and  preserving  were  carried  on  in  the  school  house 
kitchen  in  charge  of  an  expert,  women  bringing  their 
own  vegetables  and  fruit,  and  paying  the  actual  cost 
of  jars,  etc.  Certain  days  were  set  aside  in  the  school 
for  the  members  of  the  Relief  and  Aid  Society  to  can 
surplus  vegetables  donated  from  private  gardens  to 
be  used  the  following  winter  in  charity  work. 

Red  Cross  work  was  a  part  of  their  program.  One 
parish  house  was  kept  open  every  day  for  the  making 
of  surgical  supplies,  hospital  garments  and  comfort 
bags  for  soldiers  at  home  and  abroad.  A  branch  of 
the  Navy  League  worked  every  day  at  the  Woman's 
Club  house,  making  supplies  and  comforts  for  the 
sailors. 

Every  sewing  society  and  church  guild  or  fraternal 
group  in  the  village  agreed  to  keep  in  session  all  sum- 
mer to  make  garments  for  the  women  and  children 
of  our  Allies.  Money  to  buy  materials  for  the  work 
w^as  raised  by  a  systematic  collection  of  waste  paper 
twice  a  week.  This  was  marketed  with  a  substantial 
profit  in  a  city  sixteen  miles  distant ;  delivery  trucks, 
otherwise  returning  empty,  were  the  means  of  trans- 
portation. 

A  group  under  the  direction  of  the  Relief  and  Aid 
Society  undertook  to  see  that  all  local  charities  were 
maintained.  Volunteers  are  assigned  from  the  regis- 
tration lists  to  help  at  playgrounds,  parks  and 
beaches;  a  number  are  taking  social  service  training 
in  a  School  of  Civics  and  Philanthropy,  and  receiv- 
ing practical  experience  in  neighborhood  visiting,  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  Community  Nurse;  others 
have  volunteered  for  service  in  a  near  by  city  settle- 
ment and  a  day  nursery,  and  a  city  infant  welfare 

42 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

station  is  supported.  Three  groups  of  Camp  Fire 
Girls  were  organized  who  are  giving  splendid  com- 
munity service. 

The  women  joined  others  in  neighboring  towns  to 
maintain  a  "Khaki  Teahouse"  for  officers  in  the 
training  camp.  They  entertain  soldiers  and  sailors 
at  beach  parties,  at  the  Community  House  and  in 
private  homes.  One  parish  house  is  opened  one  night 
a  week  for  dances  for  the  men  from  the  training 
camp.  Magazines  and  newspapers  are  collected  for 
the  soldiers,  and  one  sewing  society  undertook  to 
mend  their  clothes. 

There  was  a  joint  committee  of  men  and  women, 
on  public  health  and  sanitation,  which  undertook  a 
complete  survey  of  village  conditions.  This  resulted 
in  a  better  system  for  the  disposal  of  garbage,  puri- 
fication of  the  water  supply,  and  a  campaign  for  the 
elimination  of  all  standing  water,  rubbish  piles,  tin 
cans  and  other  breeding-places  for  flies,  mosquitoes 
and  microbes. 

Altogether  it  is  as  busy  a  village  as  one  could 
wish,  showing  the  finest  kind  of  constructive  patriot- 
ism, defined  in  terms  of  work  close  at  home.  The 
patriotic  program  planned  and  carried  out  to  the 
letter  by  the  men  and  women  of  this  town  could  be 
followed  in  every  town  in  America  with  profit  to  the 
nation,  the  town  and  every  individual  in  the  town. 

Having  seen  the  wheels  of  organization  begin  to 
turn,  one  by  one,  in  the  states,  and  having  seen  the 
beginning  of  what  promised  to  be  successful  coor- 
dination in  each  of  its  forty-eight  sections,  the 
Woman's  Committee  turned  its  attention  to  the  closer 
organization  of  its  own  work. 


CHAPTER  IV 

REGISTRATION 

Registration  of  America's  woman  power  begun  by 
many  private  organizations — Confusion  results — That 
taken  by  Woman's  Committee  recognized  as  official  by 
Government — All  organizations  then  cooperate  for 
common  good  and  work  proceeds  throughout  the  nation 

England  found  it  necessary  to  register  its  women 
for  war  service,  and  both  France  and  Canada  later 
took  such  a  registration.  Therefore  the  Government 
and  the  women  leaders  of  America  realized  very  early 
in  the  struggle  that  it  was  highly  advisable,  if  not 
absolutely  necessary,  for  the  country  to  know  to  what 
extent  it  might  depend  on  its  women  should  they  be 
needed  in  large  numbers  to  meet  the  new  situation. 
The  proportion  of  men  to  women  being  much  greater 
in  this  country  than  it  is  in  England,  it  is  extremely 
doubtful  if  women  will  ever  be  called  upon  here  to 
the  extent  to  which  the  women  of  England  have  been 
called.  However,  the  demand  created  in  the  early 
days  of  the  European  war  for  increase  of  workers 
in  certain  of  our  industries  was  immediately  felt 
among  the  women  industrial  workers  and  this  de- 
mand has  been  steadily  increasing  since  1914. 

Confusion  resulted  regarding  registration  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  country  because  many  private  organi- 
zations   were    registering   women   for    war   service. 

44 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

Some  of  these  registrations  were  taken  for  the  benefit 
of  the  organization  taking  the  registration  and  others 
were  intended  to  help  the  Government.  In  the  chap- 
ter devoted  to  "Women  in  Industry  "  and  also  in 
that  containing  the  history  of  the  National  League  for 
Woman's  Service,  mention  is  made  at  length  of  the 
registration  taken  by  that  organization.  This  was 
begun  soon  after  war  was  declared  in  Europe  and 
was  of  such  practical  value  that  the  Secretary  of  the 
Department  of  Labor  approved  of  the  registration 
and  made  use  of  the  information  the  National  League 
for  Woman's  Service  was  able  to  furnish.  This 
registration  was  designed  purely  to  facilitate  the  work 
of  the  government  and  to  help  the  women,  by  ascer- 
taining from  the  firms  holding  government  contracts 
the  number  of  women  workers  needed;  it  sought  to 
register  the  women  of  the  country  who  wanted  paid 
work  under  government  contracts ;  and  then  to  bring 
the  job  to  the  woman  and  the  woman  to  the  job. 
That  the  registration  was  of  the  highest  value  to  all 
concerned  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  Committee  in 
charge  of  registration  in  six  months  received  from 
firms  holding  government  contracts  more  than  nine 
thousand  calls  for  women  workers.  The  practical 
value  of  the  registration  is  also  shown  by  the  wide  use 
the  Department  of  Labor  has  been  able  to  make  of  it, 
and  by  the  recognition  of  the  work  by  Government  of- 
ficials in  a  position  to  judge  of  its  value.  This  regis- 
tration should  not  have  been  confused  with  the  more 
general  registration  of  women  for  war  service  which 
was  undertaken  by  other  organizations,  and  which  in- 
cluded both  voluntary  and  paid  service  of  all  kinds. 
The  General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  very 
45 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

early  began  to  take  a  complete  registration  of  its 
women  for  war  service,  and  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution  likewise  made  a  thorough  regis- 
tration of  its  members,  as  did  other  such  organiza- 
tions. All  doubtless  were  of  great  value  to  their  re- 
spective organizations.  It  was  very  natural,  then, 
that  when  the  Woman's  Committee,  at  the  request  of 
the  National  Council  of  Defense,  announced  in  July 
a  general  registration  of  the  women  of  the  country, 
that  there  should  have  arisen  much  confusion.  In 
order  to  clear  up  the  situation  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee, on  July  2,  1917,  sent  out  a  letter  to  the  state 
chairmen  as  follows : 

We  send  you  herewith  a  correct  form  for  the  registra- 
tion card,  which  has  been  approved  by  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense  and  the  Woman's  Committee.  The  Registra- 
tion for  the  service  of  women,  which  will  be  taken  on  these 
cards,  is  not  intended  to  be  a  census  in  the  government 
meaning  of  the  word,  because  it  will  not  be  obligatory  and 
will  not  be  undertaken  by  the  national  government  but 
through  the  states.  The  aim  of  the  registration  of  women 
is,  however,  to  record  in  definite  form,  the  training,  ca- 
pacity, and  the  willingness  for  service  of  as  many  women 
as  can  be  reached  throughout  the  country.  This  registra- 
tion is,  we  repeat,  entirely  voluntary,  but  every  woman 
should  be  given  an  opportunity  to  register  for  patriotic 
service  if  she  so  desires.  This  card  has  been  prepared 
after  consultation  with  the  Census  office  so  that  if  later  the 
government  wishes  to  take  a  census  of  its  woman  power, 
these  cards  can  be  utilized  for  this  purpose. 

Much  confusion  has  resulted  in  many  states  from  private 
organizations  of  all  kinds  taking  a  registration,  either  of 
their  own  membership  or  for  general  purposes.  The  issu- 
ance of  this  official  registration  card  should  clear  up  this 

46 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

situation,  because  this  card  will  supersede  all  others  for 
women's  service.  It  may  be  possible  that  women  having 
registered  once,  or  even  many  times,  with  private  societies 
may  not  wish  to  register  again.  In  this  case  some  arrange- 
ment should  be  made  in  each  state  whereby  the  registration 
taken  by  the  private  societies  may  be  so  summarized  and 
placed  in  the  state,  or  local  headquarters  of  the  State 
Divisions  of  the  Woman's  Committee,  it  may  be  utilized 
in  conjunction  with  these  registration  cards.  It  would  be 
preferable  to  have  all  previous  registrations  reentered  upon 
the  official  cards,  or  invite  all  women,  whether  or  not  they 
have  registered  elsewhere,  to  register  again  on  these  cards. 
This  matter  will  have  to  be  worked  out  according  to  the 
best  judgment  of  the  women  in  the  several  states.  The 
official  card  will  be  retained  in  the  local  headquarters  and 
summaries  of  the  registration  sent  to  State  and  National 
headquarters. 

The  Council  of  National  Defense  has  agreed  to  print 
$2,000  worth  of  these  cards  at  the  Government  Printing 
Office  in  Washington.  They  figure  this  will  amount  to 
about  half  a  million  cards,  with  instructions  to  accompany 
them.  This,  of  course,  will  be  only  a  beginning.  There- 
fore, Mr.  Gifford,  Director  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense, has  requested  that  in  such  states  as  have  appropria- 
tions for  defense  work,  the  State  Councils  be  asked  to 
print  these  cards  for  recording  the  service  of  women.  If 
the  cooperation  of  the  State  Councils  can  be  secured  in  this 
matter,  it  will  make  it  possible  for  the  government  to  sup- 
ply immediately  such  states  as  have  not  yet  made  any  ap- 
propriations for  defense  work. 

Several  states,  where  the  Woman's  Committee  has  not 
sufficient  funds  to  carry  out  this  work,  will  adopt  the 
plan  of  asking  every  woman  who  registers  for  voluntary 
contribution;  in  some  cases,  from  one  cent  to  one  dollar; 
others,  leaving  the  contribution  entirely  unlimited.  In 
still  others,  a  request  will  be  made  to  each  woman  register- 

47 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ing  that  she  pay  ten  cents  to  help  cover  the  expense  of  the 
registration  throughout  the  state.  You  are  at  liberty  to 
adopt  any  financial  plan  which  your  State  Division  and  the 
State  Council  of  Defense  approves. 

We  shall  send  you  also  complete  instructions  as  to  just 
how  to  file  this  card,  but  in  order  to  make  it  perfectly  com- 
prehensible, we  will  add  a  few  words  now. 

The  idea  is,  that  after  filling  in  the  upper  half  of  the 
card  with  the  personal  qualifications  of  the  woman  who  ap- 
plies, she  should  select  below  either  the  occupation  in  which 
she  has  already  had  training,  and  wishes  to  serve,  or  in 
which  she  desires  training.  Let  us  suppose,  for  instance, 
that  she  is  volunteering  for  gardening,  under  the  general 
heading  of  Agriculture.  After  she  has  made  her  choice,  en- 
circle No.  4  to  show  that  she  has  had  training  in  this  line, 
or  underline  Gardening  if  she  wishes  to  learn  this  branch. 
Then,  in  the  tab  at  the  top  marked  Agriculture,  if  her  serv- 
ice is  trained,  the  "U,"  meaning  untrained,  will  be  stricken 
out,  leaving  the  "T"  and  No.  4  entered  after  it  indicating 
the  woman  is  trained  in  the  No.  4  division,  or  Gardening, 
under  the  general  heading  of  Agriculture.  If  she  is  un- 
trained and  wishes  to  study  this  branch,  the  "T,"  indicating 
trained,  will  be  stricken  out  and  the  "U"  left,  followed  by 
the  No.  4,  showing  that  she  wishes  training  in  Gardening, 
under  the  general  heading  of  Agriculture.  This  having 
been  entered,  if  the  woman  offers  no  other  service,  either  in 
the  form  of  contribution  or  in  training  that  she  may  have 
had,  all  of  the  other  tabs  are  cut  off  on  the  line  below  this 
heading,  leaving  the  one  tab  of  Agriculture  standing  up  on 
the  card.  If  the  woman  should  also  offer  some  other  service, 
under  Domestic  or  Industrial,  for  instance,  then  the  tabs 
for  the  two  services  she  offers  will  be  left  standing,  and  all 
the  others  will  be  cut  off. 

The  registration  card  is  as  follows : 
48 


«  Q)  O 

ft     Pm     Q 


OS 


>  bll 


o 

O 

o 
CO 


a  ^ 


o     •S' 


49 


u 

V 

u                   u               u 

Agrilcultural 

Clerical 

Domestic                 Industrial               Professional 

No 

WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE— 

(Sign  only  one  of  these  cards) 

Name  in  full 

(Last  name) 


(First  name) 
Tel. 


Address ^k*  \; '  \ '  ^° 

(City  or  town)      (No.  and  street  or  R.  D.  No. ) 

Age  (in  years)    Married  or  single 

Color  or  race   County  of  birth   

Citizen:  By  birth   By  naturalization 

Persons  dependent  upon  you,  if  any 

Service  ofifered  (specify  whether  volunteer,  expenses  only,  or  paid) 


Time  pledged  for  service 

If  training  is  wanted,  Tuition 

specify  line paid  or  free . 


TRAINING  AND  EXPERIENCE   (ENCIRCLE  NUMBER  TO  LEFT  OF 

ONE  IN  WHICH  YOU  WISH 


I.  Agricultural 

1  Dairying 

2  Farming 

3  Fruit   raising 

4  Gardening 

5  Poultry  raising 

6  Stock  raising 

II.  Clerical 

10  Accountant 

11  Bookkeeper 

12  Cashier 

13  Clerical  work 

(gen.) 

14  Filing 

15  Office  assistant 

16  Office   manager 

17  Private  secretary 

18  Typewriter 

19  Shipping  clerk 

20  Stenographer 

III.  Domestic 

30  Care  of  children 

31  Cleaning 

32  Cooking 

33  Housekeeping 

34  Industries  by 

home   employ 't 


35  Knitting 

36  Laundress 

37  Practical 

38  Trained  attendant 

39  Seamstress 

40  Waitress 

IV.  Industrial 

50  Baker 

51  Boarding  house 

52  Buyer 
Cook: 

53  Camp 

54  Institutional 

55  Dressmaker 
Factory : 

56  Needle  trades 

57  Food  trades 

58  Leather   trades 

59  Hat  trades 

60  Metal  trades 

61  Munitions 

62  Paper    and 

printing 

63  Wood   trades 

64  Textiles 

65  Forewoman 

66  Inspector 

67  Janitress 

(cleaner) 

50 


68  Laundry  opera- 

tive 

69  Manager 

70  Manicure  and 

hairdr. 

71  Messenger 

72  Milliner 

73  Retail  dealer 

74  Restaurant 

75  Saleswoman 

76  Waitress 

V.  Professional 

80  Actress 

81  Architect 

82  Artist 

83  Author 

84  Chemist 

85  Dentist 

86  Dietician 

87  Draftsman 

88  Engineer 
Handicrafts : 
Metals 
Textiles 
Woods 

92  Journalist 

93  Laboratory 

worker 


89 
90 
91 


u             u              u                       u 

Public  Service        Social  Service         Red  Cross  S  Allied  Relief         Miscellaneous 

Contributions 

COUNCIL  OF  NATIONAL  DEFENSE 

Division 

Unit 

Present  occupation   

By  whom  employed 

Where  employed   

References    

Education  (graduate  or  length  of  time  attended) : 

Grammar College  (give  name) 

High  or  Specialized 

private training 


Emergency  service  (specify  whether  volunteer,  expenses  only,  or  paid) 


Will  you  go 

anywhere? Home  town  only? In  United  States?. 


How  soon  can  you  start? 


OCCUPATION    IN    WHICH 
SERVICE  OR  TRAINING 


YOU    ARE     TRAINED.     UNDERLINE 


94  Languages   (for- 
eign) : 

Read  well 


Speak    well 

95  Lawyer 

96  Lecturer 

97  Librarian 

98  Musician 

99  Osteopath 

100  Pharmacist 

101  Photographer 

102  Phvsician 

103  Publicity 

104  Statistician 

105  Surgeon 

106  Teacher    (sub- 

ject) : 

Of   adults    


116  Telegraphy 

117  Wireless 

118  Telephone 
Transportation: 

119  Aviatrix 
Horse 
Motor  car 
Motor    cycle 
Power  boat 
Railroad 


120 
121 
122 
123 
124 


Of  children 

VI.  Public  Service 

110  Inspector 

111  Institutional  mgr. 

112  Mail  carrier 

113  Police  patrol 

114  Postmistress 

115  Signaling 


VII.  Social  Service 

130  Camp   work 

131  Charities — Which? 

132  Club  executive 

133  District  nursing 

134  Hospital 

135  Industrial  wel- 

fare 

136  Investigator 

137  Playgrounds 

138  Protective   assoc' 
Recreational: 

139  Dancing 

140  Music 

141  Reading  aloud 

142  Relief  visiting 

143  Settlement 

144  Social  clubs 


VIII.  Red  Cross  and 
Allied  Relief 
Instruction : 

150  Surgical  dress- 

ings 

151  Dietetics 

152  Elementary  hyg. 

153  First  aid 

154  Garments — 

Hospital 
Civilian 

IX.  Miscellaneous 


A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
E. 

n  F. 
G. 
H. 
I. 
J. 
K. 


X.  Contributions 

Ambulance 
Driver   for   car 
Duplicating    mach. 
Funds 

Home  for  convales- 
cent hospital 
Hospital 
Laboratory 
Motor  boat 
Motor  car 
Typewriter 
Share   home   with 
widow  or  children 


51 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

In  order  further  to  assist  the  women  to  under- 
stand clearly  the  full  meaning  of  registration  the 
Woman's  Committee  issued  another  letter  on  Sep- 
tember 22,  1917,  containing  the  following: 

Objects  of  Registration  for  Women 

1.  To  give  every  woman  an  opportunity  to  offer  to  her 
country  such  service  as  she  is  best  fitted  to  render. 

2.  To  interpret  to  the  Government  the  possibilities  of 
the  woman  power  of  the  country. 

3.  To  furnish  accurate  information  to  the  Government 
of  the  capacities  in  which  women  are  now  serving,  whether 
in  their  own  homes  or  in  paid  pursuits,  trades,  or  pro- 
fessions. 

4.  To  have  in  every  community  lists  of  women  carefully 
classified,  who  are  willing  to  be  called  upon  for  trained  or 
untrained  service  to  the  State  or  the  Nation. 

5.  To  ascertain  which  women  are  available  for  service 
outside  the  home,  and  which  are  not. 

6.  To  list  the  women  who  wish  to  take  training  in  order 
to  give  more  efficient  service. 

7.  To  be  able  to  furnish  women  for  local  paid  positions, 
whether  in  Government  service  or  not. 

8.  To  be  able  to  place  women  who  can  volunteer  their 
services  in  positions  of  usefulness  in  many  fields. 

9.  To  have  a  registry  of  the  capacities  and  training  of 
the  women  of  the  country  as  the  basis  of  the  work  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense. 

Success  of  Registration 

The  Registration  for  Service  of  the  women  of  any  state 
will  be  successful  in  so  far  as — 

1.  It  reaches  all  classes  of  women. 

2.  Distinguishes  accurately  between  trained  and  untrained 
service. 

52 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

3.  Suggests  possibilities  for  lines  of  service  and  training 
which  are  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  Government  at  the 
present  time,  or  are  new  to  women. 

4.  As  it  has  sufficient  publicity  to  secure  its  complete 
understanding  by  women. 

5.  As  it  has  the  full  approval  of  the  State  authorities  as 
it  has  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense. 

6.  As  it  fits  women  to  the  needs  of  the  Government  and 
the  community. 

7.  As  the  cards  are  so  filed  as  to  enable  the  state  or  local 
committees  to  respond  promptly  and  adequately  to  any 
Government  calls  for  the  service  of  women. 

These  objects  can  only  be  attained  by  careful  study  of 
the  registration  card  itself,  with  its  many  possibilities,  and 
of  the  Government  "Instructions,"  and  after  organization 
of  the  Woman's  Committee  in  any  State  has  been  extended 
to  reach  the  women  in  every  part  of  it. 

Methods  of  Conducting  Registration 

Registration  may  be  conducted  in  two  ways: — 

1.  On  a  special  day  or  during  a  period  of  time  (one  or 
two  weeks),  set  aside  by  proclamation  of  the  Governor  or 
the  State  Council  of  Defense;  or 

2.  Conducted  gradually  as  the  work  of  the  Woman's 
Committee  grows.  The  former  is  advised  as  it  makes  the 
Registration  official  (though  not  obligatory)  in  the  State, 
makes  a  good  "Talking  point"  for  publicity  and  work 
of  the  Committee  and  serves  to  get  the  Registration 
started. 

The  general  chairmen  of  counties,  cities,  wards  and  pre- 
cincts may  serve  as  Chairmen  of  Registration,  but  pref- 
erably there  should  be  a  special  Chairman  of  Regis- 
tration selected  for  the  local  work.  It  should  be  definitely 
assigned  to  some  one,  as  it  requires  much  study  and  care 
to  produce  the  inspiring  result  of  a  successful  registra- 
tion. 

53 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Registration  may  be  conducted  either  by  school  districts 
or  voting  precincts,  depending  upon  the  best  manner  of 
reaching  the  women  in  the  individual  state.  It  should,  how- 
ever, be  undertaken  by  means  of  one  or  the  other  of  these 
units  whose  confines  are  known,  so  that  overlapping  and 
duplication  may  be  avoided.  Assigning  definite  places  for 
registration  is  a  preferable  method  to  a  house  to  house 
canvass  for  several  reasons.  The  latter  requires  too  many 
women  as  registrars  for  all  to  be  well  trained.  Registration 
is  a  privilege  which  should  be  sought  by  women — not  forced 
upon  them — and  there  is  a  fine  psychological  effect  in  all 
women  doing  the  same  thing  at  the  same  time  of  their  own 
volition. 

The  State  Chairman  of  Registration  Department  should 
choose  her  Committee  very  carefully,  securing,  if  possible, 
some  prominent  librarians  on  it,  as  they  are  experts  in 
classification,  and  taking  care  to  include  women  from  all 
classes  of  the  population  and  from  some  of  the  larger 
women's  organizations  in  the  State.  The  Chairman  of 
"Women  in  Industry"  and  "Training  Classes"  for  women 
should  be  members  of  this  Committee.  This  Central  Com- 
mittee on  Registration  should  plan  the  work  of  the  state 
with  the  approval,  of  course,  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  State  Division. 

The  local  Chairman  of  Registration  in  counties  and  cities 
may  either  be  chosen  by  this  Central  Committee  on  Regis- 
tration, or  the  choice  left  to  the  General  Chairman  of  the 
county.  The  city  Chairman  of  Registration  will,  of  course, 
choose  the  ward  and  precinct  registrars,  or  "captains  and 
lieutenants  of  registration"  as  they  have  been  called  in 
some  states.  From  five  to  eight  women  should  be  trained 
for  each  precinct  or  school  district  registration.  These 
registrars  should  be  responsible  for  furnishing  all  supplies 
for  the  registration  posts,  tables,  chairs,  pens,  ink,  blotters, 
etc. 

54 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 


Training  of  Registrars 

The  Central  Committee  on  Registration  will  of  course 
make  themselves  thoroughly  familiar  by  careful  study  with 
the  registration  cards,  the  official  "Instructions,"  which  will 
be  found  a  good  guide,  the  methods  of  filing,  the  particular 
needs  of  the  State  or  the  Government  for  the  service  of 
women,  the  professions  or  trades  open  to  women,  the  par- 
ticular points  upon  which  opposition  may  possibly  be  met, 
the  localities  which  need  more  special  education,  the  general 
methods  of  local  publicity,  etc. 

This  Central  Committee  should  then  designate  certain 
places  in  the  State  where  the  county  chairmen  of  Registra- 
tion can  be  assembled  for  training,  expert  leaders  or 
teachers  being  provided.  In  some  states  one  expert  goes 
from  place  to  place  holding  these  classes  in  registration. 
In  others  a  group  is  first  trained,  and  these  women  go  to 
different  localities  throughout  the  State  to  hold  these  classes. 

The  County  Chairmen  of  Registration  then  take  up  the 
work  of  passing  on  their  training  to  the  city  ward  and 
precinct  registrars.  In  all  the  larger  cities  open  meetings 
should  be  held  where  the  registration  is  explained  in  detail, 
the  women  being  gathered  to  such  meetings  by  adequate 
publicity,  general  announcements  at  club  meetings,  etc. 
The  training  should  be  conducted  in  groups,  and  questions 
particularly  encouraged.  The  queries  of  the  prospective 
registrars  represent  fairly  well  the  questions  which  will  be 
asked  them  on  registration  day  and  uniform  interpretation 
should  be  given.  The  registrars  should  be  drilled  in  actu- 
ally making  the  registrations,  as  this  practice  work  will 
greatly  facilitate  the  filling  of  the  cards  at  the  registration 
booths.  In  certain  states  it  has  been  found  advisable  to 
have  the  large  organizations  of  women  register  their  own 
membership,  but  this  should  be  done  by  a  member  espe- 
cially trained  as  a  registrar,  meeting  the  club  members  at  a 
special  time  and  place.     The  cards  should  not  be  sent  out  to 

55 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  members  to  fill.  Though  the  cards  are  arranged  so  that 
they  may  be  filled  out  by  the  individual  woman  who  is  regis- 
tering, that  is  not  a  good  plan,  as  so  many  questions  arise 
which  should  have  a  uniform  interpretation  given  by  the 
trained  registrars. 

Points  to  be  Emphasized 

Certain  misconceptions  concerning  the  cards  are  certain 
to  be  met,  and  the  following  items  should  be  emphasized  in 
the  clearest  and  most  definite  way  possible. 

1.  Registration  is  voluntary;  women  will  not  be  drafted 
in  the  Government  service. 

2.  Women  will  not  be  taken  from  their  homes  for  Grov- 
ernment  service  either  here  or  in  Europe,  unless  they  defi- 
nitely offer  themselves  for  such  service. 

3.  If  a  woman  registers  as  "trained"  and  capable  of  self- 
support  this  will  not  give  cause  for  her  husband  to  be 
drafted. 

4.  If  a  woman  registers  for  service  at  this  time,  and 
when  called  later  finds  herself  unable  by  changed  conditions 
to  respond  to  the  call,  no  punishment  or  criticism  will  fall 
upon  her. 

5.  Women  should  register  for  what  they  are  doing  now 
and  for  what  they  have  been  trained  to  do,  whether  or  not 
they  can  give  any  extra  service  now. 

6.  Registration  along  industrial  lines  is  not  intended  to 
remove  women  from  their  present  positions,  nor  to  permit 
them  to  be  exploited  by  unauthorized  appeals  for  "war 
service." 

7.  Registration  is  intended  for  women  loyal  to  America, 
whether  or  not  they  are  naturalized  citizens,  and  should  not 
be  forced  on  unwilling  or  disloyal  women. 

8.  Children  under  14  (or  under  the  age  of  the  Com- 
pulsory School  Law)  are  considered  as  "dependent"  upon 
the  mother  whether  or  not  she  provides  the  actual  money 
for  their  support. 

56 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

9.  Whereas  experience  for  many  years  may  be  considered 
equivalent  to  "training"  in  some  trades,  or  occupations,  the 
experience  must  be  carefully  weighed  as  to  its  value  before 
a  woman  registers  as  trained.  In  other  words  a  woman 
who  has  fed  a  few  chickens  at  the  back  door,  can  hardly 
be  called  a  "trained"  poultry  raiser.  If  she  has  raised 
chickens  for  profit  for  some  years,  and  conducted  a  busi- 
ness, she  might  be  considered  trained. 

10.  Women  will  not  be  forced  to  give  their  exact  age,  but 
are  advised  to  do  so,  as  certain  Government  positions  are 
open  only  to  women  between  certain  ages.  The  age  should 
at  least  be  given  in  decades  "over  30  or  under  40,"  etc. 

Items  to  be  Specially  Noted 

1.  The  cards  should  not  be  numbered  (in  left  hand  upper 
corner)  until  after  the  registration  day,  or  period,  is  over 
and  then  numbered  consecutively  for  the  precinct  or  school 
district,  and  entered  on  the  summary  card.  Further  regis- 
tration cards  filled  at  later  periods  should  be  numbered  by 
the  person  making  the  summaries  and  to  whom  is  assigned 
the  filing  and  care  of  the  cards. 

2.  The  reverse  side  of  the  card  is  not  to  be  filled  neces- 
sarily ^at  the  time  of  registration.  This  is  to  be  filled  when 
the  woman  desires  or  takes  a  definite  position  either  paid  or 
voluntary. 

3.  The  classification  of  "Graduate  Nurse"  is  omitted  on 
the  card  at  the  express  request  of  the  American  Red  Cross 
Nursing  Bureau  It  was  felt  that  as  the  Red  Cross  was 
taking  its  own  registration  of  graduate  nurses,  another 
would  be  confusing.  If  it  is  desired  to  register  a  graduate 
nurse  (as  it  will  be  in  some  cases)  the  vacant  space  at  the 
end  of  the  "Professional"  class  may  be  used  and  the  title 
written  in. 

Publicity 

Methods  of  Publicity  should  include  cooperation  of  all 
newspapers  in  the  State,  daily  and  weekly.    Some  larger 

57 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

daily  papers  will  undoubtedly  consent  to  stereotype  the  face 
of  the  registration  card,  and  then  after  use  in  its  own  paper 
give  the  form  to  the  Committee  for  general  use.  Copies 
can  then  be  printed  very  inexpensively  and  used  for  pub- 
licity in  other  papers  and  for  general  information.  An- 
nouncements of  the  plans  and  objects  for  registration  in  the 
churches,  schools,  and  of  all  meeting  of  women's  societies. 
Patriotic  rallies  and  meetings  should  be  held  to  popularize 
registration;  the  movie  theatres  should  be  used;  and  every 
possible  means  taken  to  spread  knowledge  of  the  purposes 
of  registration  and  the  meaning  of  the  classifications  on  the 
card.  Local  officials  and  men  generally  should  be  interested 
so  far  as  possible  in  the  registration  and  should  be  used  as 
speakers  in  many  cases. 

Cooperation 

As  previously  suggested  in  our  second  letter  on  registra- 
tion, the  closest  cooperation  should  exist  between  the  De- 
partments of  Registration,  Education,  Maintenance  of 
Social  Agencies  and  Women  in  Industry.  Only  through 
such  association  can  the  talents  and  training  of  the  women 
as  revealed  through  the  registration  be  brought  to  fit  and 
fill  the  need  of  the  community,  the  state,  and  the  National 
Government.  A  wise  and  experienced  woman  as  Director 
of  volunteers  will  be  found  of  the  greatest  service  in  con- 
nection with  the  registration,  and  after  it,  to  give  counsel 
and  advice  to  women  seeking  the  best  avenue  of  service. 

The  states,  being  left  much  freedom  in  the  work- 
ing out  of  the  suggested  plans,  developed  many  novel 
and  clever  ideas.  In  Louisiana,  registration  was 
made  compulsory  by  proclamation  of  the  Governor. 
The  governors  of  Arkansas  and  Missouri  named  July 
28  as  Registration  day,  and  Wyoming  held  its  regis- 
tration   July    17.     Many    of    the    states    registered 

58 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

women  in  the  food  campaign  at  the  same  time  they 
registered  them  for  service.  In  many  of  the  states 
registrars  were  trained  in  schools  created  for  this 
instruction.  In  Ohio  and  Illinois  these  schools  were 
systematically  organized.  Illinois,  Maryland,  ]\Iis- 
souri,  Wyoming,  Connecticut,  California,  New  Mex- 
ico and  Oregon  printed  their  own  cards.  Each  of  the 
other  states  had  its  proportion  of  the  half  million 
cards  printed  by  the  government  at  Washington. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the 
various  large  organizations  with  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee in  this  nation-wide  registration  of  the  women, 
the  following  resolution,  passed  in  October,  1917,  is 
of  interest: 

Relation  of  National  Organizations 

Whereas:  The  function  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of 
the  Council  of  National  Defense,  appointed  by  the  Council 
of  National  Defense,  is  primarily  to  act: 

First,  in  an  advisory  capacity  to  the  Council,  and, 

Second,  to  be  the  official  clearing  house  of  all  organiza- 
tions of  women  to  coordinate  their  activities  in  a  coopera- 
tive manner  throughout  the  United  States,  and. 

Whereas:  The  Woman's  Committee  is  recognized  as 
the  official  Government  agent  through  which  all  women's 
organizations  may  work  out  their  own  programs,  in  no  way 
losing  their  identity  or  curtailing  their  activities  thereby, 
and, 

Whereas:  Through  the  Woman^s  Committee,  the  Gov- 
ernment may  at  any  time  require  concerted  action  of  the 
"Women's  organizations  to  carry  out  a  specified  piece  of 
work  according  to  uniform  instructions  laid  down  by  the 
Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense; 
therefore,  be  it 

59 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Resolved:  That  the  undersigned  Presidents  and  Chair- 
men of  National  organizations,  and  members  of  the 
Woman's  Committee,  urge  upon  their  State  Presidents  and 
Chairmen  the  importance  of  getting  in  direct  relationship 
with  the  Chairmen  of  the  Woman's  Committee  in  their  re- 
spective States,  so  as  to  express  through  this  Service  their 
unfailing  loyalty  to  their  country  in  this  time  of  crisis, 

It  is  Further  Resolved:  That  all  unofficial  registra- 
tions made  for  the  purpose  of  enrolling  women  members  in 
the  individual  association  shall  be  called  enrollment  of  mem- 
bers; and  that  all  registrations  taken  by  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee acting  through  the  State  Divisions,  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  shall  be  known 
as  official  registration. 

Signed 

Maude  Wetmore,  Chairman  of  the  National  League  for 
Woman's  Service. 

Mrs.  Philip  N.  Moore,  President  National  Council  of 
Women. 

Mrs.  Josiah  Evans  Cowles,  President,  General  Federa- 
tion of  Women's  Clubs. 

Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  President,  National  Woman  Suf- 
rage  Association. 

Mrs.  Joseph  R.  Lamar.  President  of  the  National  Society 
of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  America. 


CHAPTER  V 

FOOD  CONSERVATION 

Food  production,  food  conservation  and  home  eco- 
nomics— "Food  will  win  the  war,"  says  Mr.  Hoover — 
Gigantic  task  is  assigned  to  women — Back  yard  gar- 
dens yield  crop  valued  at  $350,000,000 — Secretary 
Houston's  appeal — Mr.  Pack's  great  work. 

Early  in  the  war  David  Lloyd  George  said  that 
100,000,000  pounds  sterling  might  determine  which 
nation  would  win.  Lloyd  George  believed  with 
many  others  that  financing  the  war  would  pre- 
sent the  greatest  problem  that  would  be  de- 
veloped by  the  conflict.  It  was  Herbert  Hoover, 
the  national  food  administrator,  who  perhaps  came 
nearer  the  truth  when  he  said  **Food  will  win  the 
war.'' 

Experience  has  proved  that  nations  can  go  ahead 
almost  indefinitely  financing  their  military  establish- 
ments, that  problems  of  finance  can  be  worked  out 
and  manufacturing  difficulties  overcome;  but  all  as- 
sets become  valueless  from  a  military  point  of  view 
unless  there  is  a  food  supply  sufficient  to  sustain  the 
armed  forces  and  the  civilian  population.  American 
women  almost  invariably  find  their  place  in  every 
great  movement  and  begin  work  before  the  men  who 
are  piloting  our  great  ventures  realize  that  there  is 
a  place  for  women  that  women  only  can  fill,  and  that 

61 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

there  is  an  important  work  to  be  done  that  only- 
women  can  do.  American  women  recognized  the 
weight  of  their  responsibility  in  this  war  almost  as 
soon  as  war  was  declared,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  even 
the  most  prophetic  among  them  realized  that  one  of 
the  fundamental  war  problems  that  was  early  to 
confront  the  nation  was  to  be  committed  almost  en- 
tirely to  the  women  of  the  country. 

When  it  became  evident  within  the  first  few  months 
of  war  that  the  production  and  conservation  of  food 
was  one  of  supreme  military  consideration,  every 
food  producer  and  every  consumer  of  food  products 
in  this  country  became  a  factor  in  the  military  situa- 
tion. Every  American  housewife  was  expected  to 
take  her  place  in  the  ranks  of  those  serving  their 
country. 

The  mother  in  the  kitchen,  alone  with  her  con- 
science and  her  memories,  became  a  food  admin- 
istrator in  her  own  right.  We  have  become  surfeited 
with  statistics.  We  have  talked  in  terms  of  millions 
and  billions  so  long  that  figures  have  lost  their  sig- 
nificance, but  the  fact  that  ''food  will  win  the  war," 
and  that  every  woman  had  been  drafted  into  the 
ranks  of  the  Army  of  American  Housewives,  sank 
deeply  into  the  consciousness  of  every  loyal  Ameri- 
can woman. 

The  President  said  ''Every  housewife  who  prac- 
tices strict  economy  puts  herself  in  the  ranks  of 
those  who  serve  the  nation."  As  early  as  May  5, 
1917,  Secretary  Houston  of  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  foreseeing  the  importance 
of  women's  share  in  the  nation's  task,  issued  the  fol- 
lowing appeal : 

62 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

To  the  Women  of  the  United  States: 

Every  woman  can  render  important  service  to  the  Na- 
tion in  its  present  emergency.  She  need  not  leave  her 
home  or  abandon  her  home  duties  to  help  the  armed  forces. 
She  can  help  to  feed  and  clothe  our  armies  and  help  to 
supply  food  to  those  beyond  the  seas  by  practicing  effective 
thrift  in  her  own  household. 

Every  ounce  of  food  the  housewife  saves  from  being 
wasted  in  her  home  —  all  food  which  she  or  her  children 
produce  in  the  garden  and  can  or  preserve — every  garment 
which  care  and  skilled  repair  make  it  unnecessary  to  re- 
place— all  lessen  that  household's  draft  on  the  already  in- 
sufficient world  supplies. 

To  save  food  the  housewife  must  learn  to  plan  economical 
and  properly  balanced  meals,  which,  while  nourishing  each 
member  of  the  family  properly,  do  not  encourage  overeating 
or  offer  excessive  and  wasteful  variety.  It  is  her  duty  to 
use  all  effective  methods  to  protect  food  from  spoilage  by 
heat,  dirt,  mice  or  insects.  She  must  acquire  the  culinary 
ability  to  utilize  every  bit  of  edible  food  that  comes  into  her 
home.  She  must  learn  to  use  such  foods  as  vegetables, 
beans,  peas,  and  milk  products  as  partial  substitutes  for 
meat.  She  must  make  it  her  business  to  see  that  nothing 
nutritious  is  tlu-own  away  or  allowed  to  be  wasted. 

Waste  in  any  individual  household  may  seem  to  be  insig- 
nificant, but  if  only  a  single  ounce  of  edible  food,  on  the 
average,  is  allowed  to  spoil  or  be  thrown  away  in  each  of 
our  20,000,000  homes,  over  1,300,000  pounds  of  material 
would  be  wasted  each  day.  It  takes  the  fruit  of  many 
acres  and  the  work  of  many  people  to  raise,  prepare  and 
distribute  464,000,000  pounds  of  food  a  year.  Every  ounce 
of  food  thrown  away,  therefore,  tends  also  to  waste  the 
labor  of  any  army  of  busy  citizens. 

Clothing  is  largely  an  agricultural  product  and  represents 
the  results  of  labor  on  the  sheep  ranges,  in  cotton  fields  and 
in  mills  and  factories.     Wlienever  a  useful  garment  is  need- 

63 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

lessly  discarded,  material  needed  to  keep  some  one  warm  or 
dry  may  be  consumed  merely  to  gratify  a  passing  fancy. 
Women  would  do  well  to  look  upon  clothing  at  this  time 
more  particularly  from  the  utilitarian  point  of  view. 

Leather,  too,  is  scarce,  and  the  proper  shoeing  of  armies 
calls  for  great  supplies  of  this  material.  There  are  only  so 
many  pairs  of  shoes  in  each  hide,  and  there  is  a  shortage  of 
animals  for  leather  as  well  as  for  meat.  Anything  that 
can  be  done  to  encourage  adults  or  children  to  take  care  of 
their  shoes  and  make  them  last  longer,  means  that  so  much 
more  leather  is  made  available  for  other  purposes. 

Employed  women,  especially  those  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  food  or  clothing,  also  directly  serve  their  country 
and  should  put  into  their  tasks  the  enthusiasm  and  energy 
the  importance  of  their  product  warrants. 

While  all  honor  is  due  to  the  women  who  leave  their 
homes  to  nurse  and  care  for  those  wounded  in  battle,  no 
woman  should  feel  that  because  she  does  not  wear  a  nurse's 
uniform  she  is  absolved  from  patriotic  service.  The  home 
women  of  the  country,  if  they  will  give  their  minds  fully 
to  this  vital  subject  of  food  conservation  and  train  them- 
selves in  household  thrift,  can  make  of  the  housewife^s 
apron  a  uniform  of  national  significance. 

Demonstrate  thrift  in  your  homes  and  encourage  thrift 
among  your  neighbors. 

Make  saving  rather  than  spending  your  social  standard. 

Make  economy  fashionable  lest  it  become  obligatory. 

Recognizing  that  the  various  problems  involved  in 
the  production,  conservation,  distribution  and  con- 
sumption of  food  constitute  one  of  the  nation's  most 
vital  war  considerations,  the  President  appointed 
Mr.  Herbert  C.  Hoover  as  National  Food  Adminis- 
trator, and  one  of  the  first  official  acts  of  Mr.  Hoover 
was  a  call  to  the  women  of  America.    At  the  meet- 

64 


THE  WOMAN^S  COMMITTEE 

ing  of  representatives  of  national  organizations  of 
women  called  by  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the 
Council  of  National  Defense,  and  held  in  Wash- 
ington, June  19,  1917,  Mr.  Hoover  made  his  first 
appeal.  On  this  occasion  he  announced  his  inten- 
tion to  ask  the  women  to  sign  a  food  pledge  card 
and  he  sought  to  use  the  machinery  that  had  been 
created  by  the  Woman  ^s  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense  for  distributing,  signing  and 
delivering  these  pledges.  The  spirit  of  that  meet- 
ing, as  voiced  by  the  leaders  present,  was  one  of  cor- 
dial interest  in  Mr.  Hoover's  plan,  and  the  assistance 
of  the  women  of  the  country  through  the  organiza- 
tions was  immediately  pledged.  However,  Mr. 
Hoover  had  set  a  date  so  near  the  time  of  this  meet- 
ing that  women  experienced  in  nation-wide  cam- 
paigns feared  that  there  was  not  time  enough  to  stir 
the  women  of  the  country  to  a  sense  of  their  duty, 
and  to  bring  them  to  a  perfect  understanding  of 
what  the  National  Pood  Administrator  expected  of 
them.  This  fear,  and  some  doubt  of  the  complete 
success  of  the  campaign,  was  expressed  by  Mrs.  Car- 
rie Chapman  Catt,  who  spoke  out  of  a  wide  experi- 
ence in  such  matters,  and  who  asked  that  more  time 
for  preparation  be  given.  That  this  fear  and  this 
doubt  were  justified,  subsequent  events  showed.  But 
too  much  cannot  be  said  in  praise  of  the  way  the 
leaders  in  every  state  in  the  Union  responded  to  the 
request  from  national  headquarters,  and  if  the  first 
campaign  in  the  interest  of  the  signed  pledge  cards 
was  not  as  complete  a  success  outwardly  as  was  hoped 
for,  it  was  not  because  the  women  all  over  the  coun- 
try did  not  do  their  utmost  to  carry  out  Mr.  Hoover's 

65 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

wishes.  Furthermore,  if  the  actual  number  of  signed 
pledge  cards  was  less  than  national  leaders  had  hoped 
for,  it  is  impossible  to  calculate  the  enormous  educa- 
tive value  of  the  campaign,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  through  this  campaign,  a  firm  foundation  was 
laid  for  more  thorough  and  more  constructive  work 
that  was  to  follow. 

The  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense  used  every  wheel  in  every  machine  in 
each  of  the  states  to  make  this  campaign  successful, 
and  from  national  headquarters  at  Washington  let- 
ter after  letter  went  out  filled  with  illumination  and 
inspiration  to  the  women  all  over  the  country.  Not 
only  in  this  campaign  did  the  committee  use  this 
machinery  with  telling  effect,  but  at  the  request  of 
the  Commercial  Economy  Board  the  committee  sent 
out  numerous  letters  in  the  interest  of  various  cam- 
paigns inaugurated  by  that  branch  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense.  Notable  among  these  was  the 
bread  saving  campaign.  Miss  Ida  Tarbell,  one  of 
America's  most  brilliant  and  influential  writers, 
wrote,  and  the  Woman's  Committee  sent  out,  some 
extremely  interesting  and  instructive  letters  on  this 
subject.  Miss  Tarbell  also  made  voluntary  contri- 
butions to  the  magazines  and  newspapers  of  the  coun- 
try in  the  interest  of  this  campaign,  the  success 
of  which  is  evidenced  by  the  statement  from  the 
Commercial  Economy  Board  to  the  effect  that  great 
quantities  of  bread  formerly  wasted  are  now 
saved. 

The  elimination  of  waste  in  all  directions  has  occu- 
pied the  attention  of  the  Woman's  Committee,  as  well 
as  the  individual  women  of  the  country,  and  the  cam- 

66 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

paign  in  the  interest  of  cutting  down  the  cost  of  de- 
liveries has  also  been  considered  extremely  efficacious. 
The  points  involved  in  this  campaign  were  compli- 
cated and  it  was  difficult  in  the  beginning  to  show 
how  the  reduction  in  the  cost  of  deliveries  was  to 
mean  a  saving  to  the  individual  consumer.  Immedi- 
ately women  began  to  ask,  ''I  am  willing  to  carry 
small  parcels  home  if  by  so  doing  I  can  help  the 
Government;  but  if  I  have  to  pay  the  same  price  for 
goods  I  take  home  that  I  do  for  goods  delivered,  how 
does  this  help  me  and  how  does  it  help  the  Govern- 
ment?" The  question  involved  was  a  deep  one,  but 
all  over  the  country  business  men  individually  and 
through  commercial  organizations,  as  well  as  through 
national  committees  appointed  for  the  purpose,  have 
been  busy  working  out  readjustment  plans  to  meet 
the  new  situation.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  in 
the  near  future,  through  the  cooperation  of  the 
women  of  the  country,  the  cost  of  deliveries  will  be 
reduced,  to  the  profit  of  the  consumer  and  to  the  ben- 
efit of  the  Government;  while  men,  motors  and 
horses  in  large  numbers  will  be  released  for  impor- 
tant work  of  value  to  the  Government  in  the  prose- 
cution of  war. 

The  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense  appointed  Miss  Tarbell  chairman  of 
its  committee  on  Food  Administration,  and,  until 
overwork  compelled  her  to  take  a  complete  rest.  Miss 
Tarbell  worked  early  and  late  at  her  desk  at  the 
Woman's  Committee  headquarters,  at  the  same  time 
giving  several  hours  a  day  of  her  valuable  time  to 
the  National  Food  Administration.  Only  those  who 
have  been  close  to  Miss  Tarbell,  and  who  have  seen 

67 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

her  working  despite  physical  frailty,  day  after  day 
and  week  after  week,  can  appreciate  the  value  of  the 
service  she  has  rendered,  and  the  spirit  of  self-sacri- 
ficing patriotism  that  has  inspired  her. 

There  have  been  various  efforts  to  estimate  cor- 
rectly the   amount  of   food  that   has  been   canned, 
dried  and  preserved  in  America  during  the  first  year 
of  the  war.     One  fourth  of  our  country  ^s  diet  con- 
sists  of  vegetables,   and   yet,   next   to   Australians, 
Americans    are    the    world's    greatest    meat    eaters. 
Census  returns  show  that  we  produce,  exclusive  of 
potatoes  and  sweet  potatoes,  vegetables  to  the  value 
of  $216,000,000.     The  tomato  takes  first  rank  with  a 
$14,000,000  production  to  its  credit;  the  onion  con- 
tributes one-half  as  much  to  the  total,  while  corn  is 
third  in  the  list.     The  annual  production  of  water- 
melons is  valued  at  $5,000,000,  and  cantaloupes  at 
$4,000,000.     These    figures    are    based    on    products 
that  reach  the  city  markets  and  do  not  include  vege- 
tables raised  for  private  consumption.     The   Food 
Administrator  made  an  urgent  and  definite  appeal 
to  the  women  of  the  country  to  preserve  as  much  of 
these  products  for  winter  use  as  possible  in  order  to 
save  wheat  and  other  food  stuffs  so  badly  needed  by 
our  allies.    Modern  machinery  has  made  the  can- 
ning, drying  and  preserving  of  fruit  and  vegetables 
comparatively  simple.     There  are  hulling  machines 
which  will  take  green  peas  out  of  the  pods  at  the 
rate  of  one  thousand  bushels  per  day ;  there  are  sep- 
arators which  will  grade  the  peas  according  to  size; 
there  are  corn  cutters  which  remove  the  grain  from 
the  cob  at  the  rate  of  four  thousand  ears  an  hour, 
and  silking  machines  which  will  work  at  equal  speed 

68 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

— to  say  nothing  of  the  automatic  machine  which 
will  fill  twelve  thousand  cans  a  day. 

Perhaps  no  feature  of  the  national  food  conserva- 
tion program  in  which  women  had  a  share  has  been 
productive  of  more  practical  results  and  has  meant 
more  saving  in  actual  dollars  and  cents  than  has  that 
of  saving  the  hundreds  of  tons  of  food  that  are  an- 
nually wasted  because  of  the  condemnation  by  health 
authorities  of  the  larger  cities.  Much  of  this  is 
sound.  Often  boxes  of  fruits  or  vegetables  are  con- 
demned because  the  cartons  have  become  damp  or 
insecure,  or  because  top  layers  of  fruits  or  vege- 
tables have  become  spoiled  because  of  careless  han- 
dling. The  cost  of  resorting  such  products  to  the 
merchant  makes  impracticable  his  rehandling  them. 
In  New  York  City  where  tons  of  such  food  are  dumped 
in  the  river  every  day,  the  women  secured  permis- 
sion to  reclaim  that  part  of  this  salvage  which  was 
good.  With  voluntary  labor  they  sorted  fruits  and 
vegetables,  which  were  resubmitted  to  the  public 
health  authorities,  and  which  were  passed  by  them. 
They  opened  community  canning  centers,  and  women 
who  could  spare  a  few  hours  a  day  to  help  pick,  sort, 
prepare  or  can  the  food  were  paid  for  their  labor  by 
a  system  of  time  cards,  redeemable  with  either  fresh 
fruits  and  vegetables  at  the  time,  or  in  canned  goods 
later  when  the  food  shortage  began  to  be  felt.  By 
this  means  an  enormous  amount  of  wholesome  food 
was  saved,  not  only  in  New  York  but  throughout  the 
country. 

Closely  related  to  the  problem  of  food  conservation 
was  that  of  food  production,  and  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee appointed  as  its  chairman  for  this  work,  Mrs. 

69 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Stanley  McCormick.  The  division  is  known  as  that 
of  "Food  Production  and  Home  Economics."  At 
the  request  of  Dr.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  chairman  of 
the  Woman's  Committee,  Miss  Helen  W.  Atwater 
of  the  Home  Economics  office  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  was  assigned  to  cooperate  with  the 
Woman's  Committee.  Miss  Atwater  spends  some 
time  each  day  at  her  desk  at  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee headquarters.  Her  work  consists  in  making 
available  for  the  committee  the  services  of  the  Home 
Economics  specialists  in  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture and  in  the  various  State  Agricultural  Col- 
leges. Miss  Atwater  is  well  qualified  for  these  im- 
portant duties.  She  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  Dr. 
W.  0.  Atwater,  a  pioneer  in  food  nutrition  investi- 
gations of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  the  results 
of  which  are  being  utilized  today  by  Great  Britain 
and  France  in  their  war  operations. 

Parallel  in  importance  with  the  subject  of  food 
conservation  is  that  of  food  production,  and  in  this 
also  the  women  of  America  have  been  conspicuously 
successful,  and  have  made  a  contribution  of  ines- 
timable value  to  the  national  war  program.  Not 
only  have  the  farm  women  of  America  participated  in 
this  highly  patriotic  work,  but  the  city  women  have 
done  unheard-of  things  with  most  spectacular  success. 
Mr.  Charles  Lathrop  Pack,  president  of  the  National 
Emergency  Food  Gardens  Commission,  and  president 
of  the  American  Forestry  Association,  is  responsible 
for  the  statement  that  the  value  of  the  crops  raised 
on  back  yard  lots  is  $350,000,000,  and  when  asked  as 
to  what  part  women  had  in  achieving  this  stupendous 
result,  Mr.  Pack  said,  ''The  women  did  it  all."    As 

70 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

the  result  of  ]\Ir.  Pack's  personal  interest  in  this 
movement,  and  the  expert  way  in  which  the  cam- 
paign conducted  by  the  Emergency  Food  Gardens 
Commission  was  managed,  1,100,000  acres  of  city  and 
town  land  were  cultivated  in  1917 — and  much  of  this 
had  been  previously  non-productive.  It  is  estimated 
that  3,000,000  food  gardens  were  planted  in  1917. 
Mr.  Pack  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  1917 
the  glass  jar  manufacturers  of  this  country  had  de- 
livered to  September  1  approximately  119,000,000 
quart  glass  jars.  A  survey  of  the  household  supply 
of  jars  in  some  twenty  typical  towns  throughout  the 
country  shows  that  the  housewives  of  America  in 
1917  used  but  one  new  jar  to  over  three  and  one- 
quarter  old  glass  jars  on  hand.  This  makes  possible 
the  statement  that  the  home  women  of  America  in 
less  than  one  year  after  war  was  declared  had  re- 
sponded to  the  call  to  conserve  food  to  the  extent  of 
460,000,000  quarts.  In  addition  to  this  it  is  said 
that  the  value  of  dried  fruits  and  vegetables  is  sev- 
eral million  dollars. 

The  slogan  of  the  National  Emergency  Food  Gar- 
dens Association  which  originated  with  Mr.  Pack  is 
''Food  F.  0.  B.  the  Kitchen  Door.''  The  members 
of  this  commission  are  Luther  Burbank  of  Califor- 
nia; Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot  of  Harvard;  Dr.  Irving 
Fisher  of  Yale;  Fred  H.  Goff;  John  Hays  Ham- 
mond; Fairfax  Harrison,  president  of  the  Southern 
Railway;  Myron  T.  Herrick,  former  Ambassador  to 
France ;  Dr.  John  Grier  Hibben,  of  Princeton ;  Emer- 
son McMillin  of  New  York;  A.  W.  Shaw,  of  Chi- 
cago; Mrs.  John  Dickinson  Sherman  of  Chicago, 
chairman  conservation  department  General  Federa- 

71 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tion  of  Women's  Clubs;  Captain  J.  B.  White  of  Kan- 
sas City;  James  Wilson,  former  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture; and  P.  S.  Ridsdale,  editor  of  the  American 
Forestry  Magazine. 

Through  Mrs.  Sherman,  the  General  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs  worked  industriously  in  the  efforts 
toward  food  conservation.  In  Kentucky,  the  Na- 
tional League  for  Woman's  Service  carried  ''The 
Battle  Cry  of  Feed  'em"  to  every  newspaper.  The 
Women's  Suffrage  Organization  of  Virginia,  with  its 
one  hundred  and  fifteen  branches,  did  the  same. 
The  Boys'  and  Girls'  Club  of  the  Agricultural  Ex- 
tension Service  of  the  various  states  cooperated  en- 
thusiastically, and  the  Indian  schools  of  the  country 
also  enlisted. 

The  war  bureaus  of  the  countries  at  war  figure 
that  there  are  38,000,000  men  under  arms.  At  a  cost 
of  forty  cents  a  day  to  feed  a  soldier,  the  daily  food 
bill  of  the  armies  of  the  world  is  $15,240,000.  This 
does  not  touch  the  thousands  of  others  who  have  sud- 
denly been  drawn  from  productive  enterprise  to  enter 
war  work.  This  staggering  board  bill  must  be  met. 
Mr.  Pack  says  "Camouflage  may  deceive  a  soldier's 
eye,  but  you  cannot  deceive  his  stomach — ^he  must 
have  real  food. ' '  The  world  is  looking  to  the  United 
States  for  that  food. 

Early  in  November,  1917,  under  Mr.  Hoover's  di- 
rection, a  second  campaign  was  inaugurated  in  the 
interest  of  enlisting  in  active  service  the  housewives 
of  America  in  the  nation's  great  army  of  food  con- 
servers.  In  this  campaign  none  of  the  machinery  of 
the  national  organizations  of  women  was  specifically 
used.     The  campaign  was  managed  through  a  special 

72 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

campaign  committee  at  Washington,  headed  by  Mr. 
W.  E.  Ward  and  Mr.  Harvey  Hill,  men  of  wide  ex- 
perience in  such  }.iatters.  Both  Mr.  Hill  and  Mr. 
Ward  organized  with  signal  success  the  great  Red 
Cross  campaign,  which  was  inaugurated  earlier  in 
the  year.  Workers-  were  enlisted  through  the  State 
Pood  Administrators.  Every  organization  of  women 
in  the  country  responded  when  called  upon,  as  did 
the  individual  women  everywhere,  and  half  a  million 
workers  were  soon  engaged  in  enrolling  the  house- 
wives of  America  for  this  great  army  of  food  con- 
servers.  The  second  campaign  was  successful  from 
every  standpoint,  and  as  a  material  evidence  of  the 
patriotic  spirit  of  American  women,  between  ten  and 
twelve  million  household  enrollment  pledge  cards 
have  been  signed. 

From  the  foregoing  the  magnitude  of  our  task 
may  be  imagined  and  women's  part  may  be  calcu- 
lated, for  indeed,  women  are  convinced  that  the 
main  part  of  this  burden  is  theirs.  That  they  have 
met  with  a  high  spirit  of  patriotism  every  single 
obligation  that  has  been  imposed  upon  them,  no  one 
can  deny;  and  that  they  will  measure  up  to  every 
responsibility  the  future  may  bring,  no  one  doubts. 


/ 

[ 

'( 

CHAPTER  W 

CHILD  WELFAuE 

Children's  Bureau  under  Miss  Julia  Lathrop,  General 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  and  other  organizations 
intensify  work  in  interest  of  Nation's  children — 
— Women  work  to  make  Federal  Child  Labor  Law 
effective — New  department  of  Children's  Bureau  under 
Miss  Abbott. 

It  did  not  take  a  declaration  of  war  to  bring  tlie 
Government  of  the  United  States  to  a  realization  of 
the  importance  of  caring  for  the  moral  and  physical 
welfare  of  its  children,  nor  did  it  take  a  declaration 
of  war  to  direct  the  attention  of  women  to  this 
work,  much  of  the  responsibility  of  which  naturally 
fell  on  their  shoulders. 

For  many  years  the  General  Federation  of 
"Women's  Clubs,  through  a  special  department,  and 
many  of  its  cooperating  organizations,  such  as  the 
National  Congress  of  Mothers  and  Parent-Teachers' 
Association,  had  been  giving  a  great  deal  of  atten- 
tion to  this  all  important  subject. 

The  Government  had  also  given  recognition  to  its 
importance  by  the  creation  of  a  Children's  Bureau 
under  the  Department  of  Labor  of  which  Miss  Julia 
Lathrop  of  Illinois  is  chief. 

It  was  logical  that  the  child  welfare  work  that 
developed   directly   because   of   the   war   should   be 

74 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

definitely  linked  with  this  great  governmental  agency 
and  that  the  emergency  plans  for  meeting  the  situa- 
tion should  merely  involve  an  expansion  of  the  exist- 
ing machinery  for  looking  after  the  welfare  of  the 
nation's  children,  and  an  intensification  of  its  ef- 
forts. The  Woman's  Committee  promptly  asked 
Miss  Lathrop  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  Executive 
Chairman  of  its  Child  Welfare  Department.  The 
Committee  was  happy  to  be  guided  by  her  experi- 
enced hand  and  trained  mind. 

The  aim  of  this  Department  is  to  safeguard  the 
character  and  the  education  of  the  children  of  the 
United  States  during  the  war,  by  helping  to  make  the 
Federal  Child  Labor  Law  effective;  by  aiding  teach- 
ers and  superintendents  of  schools  in  the  care  and 
welfare  of  children;  by  visiting  through  its  state 
organization,  school  authorities  and  labor  officials, 
and  cooperating  with  them  in  an  effort  to  keep  chil- 
dren under  fourteen  in  school,  decently  clothed  and 
well  nourished. 

*  *  The  least  a  democratic  nation  can  do,  which  sends 
men  into  war,  is  to  give  a  solemn  assurance  that 
their  families  will  be  cared  for — not  kept  from 
starvation,  but  kept  on  a  wholesome  level  of  com- 
fort,*' Miss  Julia  Lathrop  said  soon  after  war  was 
declared. 

When  the  United  States  declared  war  the  Chil- 
dren's Bureau  under  Miss  Lathrop  at  once  began  a 
study  of  conditions  in  foreign  countries.  '*As  we 
studied  infant  and  maternal  mortality,*'  said  Miss 
Lathrop,  "delinquency  and  dependency,  child  labor 
and  school  exemptions,  the  relation  of  all  those  evils 
to  the  economic  status  of  the  family  became  increas- 

75 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ingly  plain,  and  it  was  clear  that  in  a  country  with 
a  vast  number  of  men  in  arms,  the  first  question  in  a 
review  of  social  conditions  is  what  protection  will 
the  Government  afford  the  family.  Canada  is  our 
next  door  neighbor,  and  her  standard  and  ideals  are 
so  analogous  to  our  own  that  her  methods  of  dealing 
with  her  soldiers  are  of  especial  interest." 

Captain  S.  Herbert  Wolfe  generously  offered  his 
services  to  make  a  special  study  of  the  Canadian  pro- 
visions and  this  study  was  published  by  the  Bureau 
under  the  title  *'Care  of  Dependents  of  Enlisted 
iMen  in  Canada."  At  the  request  of  the  United 
States  Secretary  of  Labor,  Captain  Wolfe  aided 
in  making  a  similar  study  of  the  laws  for  soldiers' 
pay  in  the  United  States  and  upon  these  two  re- 
ports was  based  the  bill  for  soldiers'  compensa- 
tion which  was  subsequently  introduced  into  Con- 
gress. 

Believing  this  bill  to  be  of  the  most  vital  import 
the  Woman's  Committee,  through  its  Chairman,  Dr. 
Anna  Howard  Shaw,  sent  a  letter  to  the  Chairmen 
in  the  various  states  asking  their  interest  in  the 
support  of  the  bill.  Dr.  Shaw  stated  that  she  con- 
sidered it  a  great  opportunity  for  women  to  urge  the 
maintenance  of  the  families  of  the  soldiers,  to  prevent 
untold  sufferings  and  to  bring  us  through  this  war 
with  families  stronger  than  they  otherwise  could  be. 
The  Woman's  Committee  made  a  thorough  drive  to 
bring  about  a  complete  understanding  of  this  meas- 
ure among  the  women  of  America.  Accompanying 
each  letter  to  the  state  chairmen  were  fifty  copies  of 
Secretary  McAdoo's  digest  of  the  bill,  to  be  sent  to 
county  chairmen.    The  Committee  urged  women  to 

76 


THE  WOMAN'S  COlVmiTTEE 

write    or    telegraph    Congressmen    urging    prompt 
passage  of  the  law. 

In  an  effort  to  assist  in  the  enforcement  of  the 
Child  Labor  Law,  which  became  effective  September 
1,  1917,  the  Woman's  Committee,  on  August  17, 
1917,  sent  to  each  state  chairman  the  following  let- 
ter: 

Will  you  help  to  make  the  Federal  Child  Labor  Law  ef- 
fective? This  law  goes  into  effect  on  September  1,  1917. 
It  provides  that  no  child  under  fourteen  shall  work  in  any 
mill,  cannery,  workshop,  factory  or  manufacturing  estab- 
lishment which  ships  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce. 
Thus  it  sets  free  children  under  fourteen  who  are  today  at 
work  in  any  of  these  industries.  It  sets  them  free  to  give 
them  a  better  chance  in  the  world — so  that  they  may  go  to 
school.  Children  under  fourteen  who  have  been  at  work 
have  already  lost  time  that  can  never  be  made  up  to  them. 

The  full  benefit  to  be  gained  from  the  new  Federal  Child 
Labor  Law  cannot  be  secured  merely  by  its  complete  en- 
forcement. The  final  responsibility  rests  with  the  citizens 
of  each  locality  and  demands  a  service  outside  of  the  law 
itself.  If  every  child  released  from  work  can  be  sent, 
well  nourished  and  decently  clothed,  to  a  good  school,  under 
a  good  teacher,  then  the  full  benefit  of  the  Federal  Child 
Labor  Law  will  be  reaped  for  the  country's  children. 

This  will  cost  money.  It  means  sacrifice  on  the  part  of 
older  people;  it  means  taxes  for  more  schools  and  better 
schools.  It  means  unstinted  effort  in  communities  where 
poverty  may  necessitate  scholarships.  There  is  reason  to 
beheve  that  comparatively  few  scholarships  will  be  required, 
and  that  the  important  matter  is  to  provide  the  schools  and 
see  that  the  children  attend  them. 

No  words  can  be  too  strong  to  express  the  importance  of 
giving  to  the  nation's  children  nurture  and  education  in 
the  fullest  possible  measure  as  a  war  time  protection  of  our 

77 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

last  reserves.  It  cannot  but  stir  American  women  to  know 
that  England,  after  three  years  of  war,  is  urging  through 
the  Departmental  Committee  on  Education,  a  new  law, 
keeping  children  in  school  until  fourteen,  allowing  no  ex- 
emptions and  including  all  rural  children  and  thus  going 
far  greater  lengths  than  the  United  States  law. 

Indirectly  our  new  law  will  help  rural  children  in  those 
areas  where  the  greatest  problem  of  illiteracy  now  exists, 
for  the  nation  will  not  long  permit  rural  children  to  grow 
up  untaught  if  the  education  of  all  other  children  is  se- 
cured. 

If  children  are  not  decently  clothed  and  properly  fed 
they  cannot  get  the  full  value  of  school.  Scholarships  are 
raised  for  college  and  university  students  to  help  pay  living 
expenses  for  those  who  could  not  otherwise  attend  the 
highest  schools.  These  scholarships  have  proved  an  invest- 
ment of  incalculable  value  to  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States. 

Scholarships  in  elementary  schools  will  lay  the  founda- 
tion for  perhaps  a  greater  addition  to  national  power. 

Here  is  something  to  do:  Please  visit  your  school  au- 
thorities and  labor  officials  and  find  out  whether  all  the 
children  in  your  community  under  fourteen  years  of  age 
are  in  school.  If  the  school  census  and  the  attendance 
records  differ  greatly  something  is  wrong. 

Will  you  find  out  where  the  children  under  fourteen  are 
if  not  in  school? 

If  you  wish  to  help,  please  begin  to  help  by  filling  in  the 
accompanying  blank  as  soon  as  practicable  after  September 
first  and  returning  it  to  the  Woman's  Committee. 

Through  answers  to  the  questions  on  the  accom- 
panying blank  much  valuable  information  was  se- 
cured. 

The  Committee  strongly  urged  the  appointment  of 
a  chairman  for  Child  Welfare  in  every  state  and  in  a 

78 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

second  letter  to  the  state  chairmen,  Dr.  Shaw  said: 
*'No  other  patriotic  service  should  be  permitted  to 
take  the  place  of  the  care  and  welfare  of  the  children 
in  our  own  countiy.  This  should  be  our  first  con- 
sideration. The  future  of  our  country  depends  upon 
the  character  and  intelligence  of  its  citizens.  Al- 
ready the  claim  is  made  that  juvenile  crime  is  in- 
creasing since  the  declaration  of  war  and  the  mobili- 
zation of  our  armies.  If  this  is  true,  we  should  need 
no  greater  incentive  to  seek  to  protect  our  children 
than  this  danger  with  which  as  a  nation  we  are  con- 
fronted. 

**  If  you  have  not  yet  appointed  a  chairman  for 
the  Department  of  Child  Welfare,  do  not  delay  it 
longer,  that  each  county  may  be  equipped  to  safe- 
guard the  future  of  our  country  by  safeguarding  the 
character  and  education  of  our  youth.  Do  every- 
thing through  your  committee  possible  to  secure  the 
cooperation  of  superintendents  and  teachers  to  ad- 
vise and  aid  you  in  the  common  interest  of  the  home, 
the  schools  and  the  country." 

After  the  Child  Labor  Law  went  into  effect  Sep- 
tember 1,  1917,  the  Secretary  of  the  Department  of 
Labor  caused  to  be  created  a  new  division  of  the 
Children's  Bureau,  in  order  that  the  country  may 
reap  the  full  benefit  of  the  law. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  year  of  the  war 
in  Europe  and  the  unceasing  preparations  still  going 
forward,  which  are  swallowing  up  billions  of  dollars, 
Great  Britain,  France,  Belgium  and  Germany  have 
found  that  in  spite  of  the  woeful  need  of  economy 
along  every  line,  now  boiled  down  to  the  last  dregs, 
there  must  be  no  economy  exercised  when  it  comes  to 

79 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  care  of  babies,  young  children  and  mothers. 
These  are  the  bulwarks  upon  which  the  warring  na- 
tions must  rest  after  the  carnage  has  ceased  and  nor- 
mal conditions  must  be  reestablished. 

America,  already  awake  to  the  danger,  and  to  the 
necessity  of  continuing  and  strengthening  the  pre- 
vention measures  then  in  operation,  believed  that 
the  new  Federal  Child  Labor  Law  was  vital  to  the 
upbuilding  of  the  new  generation.  This  law  forbids 
the  shipment  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce  of 
the  product  of  a  manufacturing  establishment  or  of 
a  mine  or  quarry  in  the  United  States  in  which 
within  thirty  days  prior  to  the  removal  of  the  prod- 
uct from  such  establishment,  mine  or  quarry,  children 
have  been  employed  contrary  to  the  following  provi- 
sions: First,  no  child  under  fourteen  to  be  em- 
ployed at  any  time  in  any  mill,  cannery,  workshop, 
factory  or  manufacturing  establishment;  second,  no 
child  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  sixteen  years 
to  be  employed  in  establishments  specified  in  the  first 
provision  for  more  than  eight  hours  in  any  day,  or 
more  than  six  days  in  any  week,  or  between  7  p.  m. 
and  6  A.  M. ;  third,  no  child  under  sixteen  to  be  em- 
ployed at  any  time  in  any  mine  or  quarry. 

The  Attorney  General,  the  Secretary  of  Commerce, 
and  the  Secretary  of  Labor  constitute  a  board  to 
make  regulations  for  carrying  out  the  provisions  of 
this  act.  The  problem  of  enforcement  is  complicated 
and  inadequate;  provisions  in  many  states  have  had 
a  tendency  to  frustrate  the  very  purpose  for  which 
child  legislation  has  been  willingly  passed. 

In  six  states  child  labor  laws  have  been  passed 
which  do  not  call  for  the  appointment  of  an  enforc- 

80 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

ing  official,  and  the  result  is  wholesale  violation  of 
the  law.  While  some  states  recognize  the  need  of 
such  enforcement  to  the  extent  of  providing  one  of- 
ficial, with  a  clerk,  to  administer  the  labor  law,  to 
collect  and  publish  manufacturing  and  agricultural 
statistics  and  to  perform  other  varied  and  numerous 
duties  which  render  it  impossible  to  do  justice  to  the 
work,  the  result  is  that  neither  the  spirit  nor  the  let- 
ter of  the  law  is  fulfilled. 

The  Children's  Bureau  of  the  Department  of 
Labor  has  not  only  been  far-reaching  in  its  work  for 
the  woman  and  child  welfare  of  the  present  genera- 
tion, but  has  been  far-seeing  in  its  plans  for  result- 
ing good  to  those  who  will  come  later.  The  new 
child  labor  division  is  the  logical  outcome  of  this 
work.  The  young  woman  who  has  been  placed  at 
the  head  of  it  is  one  whose  life  work  has  been  spent 
along  the  practical  lines,  a  knowledge  of  which  will 
go  far  toward  making  the  enforcement  of  the  new 
federal  law  a  success. 

This  woman  is  Miss  Grace  Abbott  of  Chicago,  who 
brings  to  the  work  a  broad  experience  in  industrial 
matters,  both  in  this  country  and  abroad;  executive 
ability  of  a  high  order,  and  an  interesting  and  com- 
pelling influence  over  those  with  whom  she  comes  in 
contact.  For  a  month  or  more  before  the  law  went 
into  effect  she  was  at  work  on  the  details  of  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  division,  T;ith  a  staff  of  tempo- 
rary assistants,  in  order  that  there  might  be  no  delay 
in  enforcing  the  law.  The  permanent  assistants  will 
be  taken  from  those  experts  passing  a  competitive 
examination  in  child  welfare. 

Miss  Abbott  lived  for  many  years  in  an  industrial 
81 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

neighborhood  and  was  a  resident  of  Hull  House,  Chi- 
cago, for  seven  years.  She  has  visited  Europe  re- 
peatedly to  observe  industrial  conditions,  especially 
in  countries  from  which  immigration  has  been  large 
in  recent  years.  Since  1908  she  has  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  work  on  industrial  problems  as  they  have 
affected  immigrants,  part  of  the  time  as  executive 
secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  immigration  commis- 
sion, and  more  recently  as  director  of  the  Immi- 
grant's Protective  League  of  Chicago. 

In  northern  and  western  Hungary  and  Cracow, 
Miss  Abbott  lived  among  the  people,  studying  their 
habits,  their  environment  and  religious  and  social 
conditions  which  had  a  bearing  on  their  daily  lives, 
thus  making  it  easier  for  her  to  help  immigrants  from 
those  places  to  learn  to  readjust  themselves  to  condi- 
tions in  America. 

When  studying  the  districts  in  Galicia,  northern 
Hungary  and  Croatia,  she,  in  company  with  the  vil- 
lage priest,  visited  the  people  in  their  homes,  went  to 
the  parish  church  where  they  worshiped,  to  the  pub- 
lic square  where  their  amusements  were  carried  on, 
and  to  the  fields  where  they  worked  long  hours  of 
the  day. 

The  new  law  will  reach  the  following  conditions  as 
set  forth  by  the  national  child  labor  committee: 
"Three  states,  permitting  children  under  fourteen  to 
work  in  factories  and  mills  at  all  times,  and  nineteen 
more  states  permitting  it  by  exemption ;  sixteen  min- 
ing states  permitting  children  under  sixteen  to  work 
in  mines;  three  more  by  exemption;  nine  states  al- 
lowing night  work  of  children  under  sixteen,  five 
more  by  exemption;  twenty-four  states  allovring  chil- 

82 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

dren  under  sixteen  to  work  more  than  eight  hours  a 
day  in  factories,  four  more  by  exemption." 

With  the  national  departments  actively  enlisted  to 
safeguard  its  children;  with  such  women  as  Miss 
Lathrop  and  Miss  Abbott  at  the  head  of  the  work; 
with  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense  standing  squarely  behind  the  Chil- 
dren's Bureau  in  everything  it  undertakes;  and 
with  leading  women  in  every  state  in  the  Union  on 
guard  for  the  safety  and  welfare  of  the  children, 
America  need  have  nothing  to  fear  for  the  genera- 
tion of  its  citizens  now  being  developed  amidst  the 
difficulties  and  dangers  of  war. 


CHAPTEE  VII 

HEALTH  AND  RECREATION 

Moral  and  physical  welfare  of  enlisted  men  the  govern- 
ment's first  consideration — Woman's  Committee,  Y.  W. 
C.  A.,  and  other  organizations  assist  Commission  on 
Training  Camp  Activities — How  women  have  helped  in 
many  states. 

Addressing  a  company  of  women  war  workers  in 
Washington  in  September,  1917,  the  Secretary  of 
War  said:  ''Never  before  in  the  history  of  any  peo- 
ple has  an  army  been  assembled  under  conditions  so 
wholesome,  so  clean,  and  so  stimulating  to  the  per- 
sonal pride  and  to  the  national  credit  as  the  army  we 
are  now  assembling  in  the  United  States.  The  old 
stories  of  soldiers*  camps,  with  their  perils,  their 
disasters,  their  temptations,  are  in  a  large  degree 
past,  and  because  we  are  a  civilized  people,  because 
our  civilization  is  more  than  a  matter  of  collars  and 
cuffs,  because  we  are  a  moral  people,  we  have  deter- 
mined to  surround  our  army,  not  with  a  system  of 
prohibitions  and  restraints,  but  with  a  system  of 
wholesome  environments  and  stimulating  induce- 
ments to  self -improvement  and  high  conduct,  of  such 
character  that  everybody  who  visits  one  of  our  camps 
will  come  away  thrilled  with  the  thought  that  at  last 
this  sort  of  business  can  be  carried  on  in  a  manner 
highly  creditable  to  a  great  nation." 

84 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

As  early  as  May  18,  1917,  the  War  Department  was 
authorized  by  Congress  and  the  President  to  make 
such  regulations  as  seemed  advisable  concerning  con- 
ditions surrounding  the  camps.  Accordingly,  Secre- 
tary Baker  organized  a  commission  to  advise  on  ques- 
tions relating  to  the  moral  hazards  in  training  cen- 
ters; as  vi^ell  as  the  promotion  of  rational  recreation 
facilities  within  and  without  the  camps.  Of  this 
commission  Mr.  Raymond  B.  Fosdick  was  appointed 
chairman. 

It  would  be  a  long  story  indeed  if  all  of  the  work 
women  have  done  in  the  interest  of  the  health  and 
happiness  of  our  American  soldiers  were  recorded, 
for  in  practically  all  of  the  splendid  plans  that  have 
been  set  on  foot  for  safeguarding  the  health  and 
morals  of  the  soldiers  on  land  and  sea,  women  have 
been  asked  to  contribute  a  large  share. 

On  Mr.  Fosdick 's  commission  under  the  Navy  De- 
partment are  two  women,  Mrs.  Helen  Ring  Robinson, 
former  state  senator  from  Colorado,  and  Mrs.  Daisy 
McLauren  Stevens.  The  authorized  organizations 
working  within  the  camps  are,  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  and  Knights  of  Columbus ;  and 
there  are  authorized  directors  of  theaters,  libraries, 
athletics  and  music.  The  authorized  organizations 
working  outside  the  camps  are,  the  Playground  and 
Recreation  Association  of  America,  in  cooperation 
with  all  organizations  both  of  men  and  women.  In 
addition  to  these  organizations  there  are  two  others 
of  special  interest,  which  consider  in  their  plans  the 
care  of  girls.  These  also  are  under  the  special  au- 
thority of  Mr.  Fosdick.  They  are  the  sub-committee 
on  Protective  Work  for  Girls,  Miss  Maude  E.  Minor, 

85 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

chairman,  and  the  sub-committee  on  Proper  Chape- 
ronage  of  Girls  under  Miss  Katherine  Scott.  The 
latter  has  charge  of  the  "Hostess  Houses." 

The  Surgeon-General  has  sent  out  special  commu- 
nications addressed  to  the  men  in  the  camps,  and  the 
Army  Medical  Department,  the  United  States  Public 
Health  Service,  the  War  Department  Commission  and 
Civil  Authorities  have  all  been  active  in  the  interest 
of  the  health  and  well-being  of  our  soldiers. 

The  Secretary  of  War  asked  that  the  Woman's 
Committee  cooperate  in  all  of  these  activities  and 
Mrs.  Philip  N.  Moore  was  appointed  chairman  of  the 
Department  of  Health  and  Recreation  of  the 
Woman's  Committee.  Mrs.  Moore  is  eminently  qual- 
ified to  serve  as  chairman  of  this  committee.  She 
has  long  been  prominently  identified  with  national 
movements  looking  to  the  betterment  of  conditions 
among  which  we  live.  She  was  president  of  the 
General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  and  is  now 
president  of  the  National  Council  of  Women,  Amer- 
ica's largest  and  most  far-reaching  organization  of 
women. 

In  addition  to  asking  the  assistance  of  the  women 
of  the  country  through  the  Woman's  Committee,  the 
commission  of  which  Mr.  Fosdick  is  chairman  asked 
the  cooperation  and  assistance  of  women's  organiza- 
tions wherever  they  are  willing  to  give  their  services. 

Mrs.  Moore  asked  that  each  state  chairman  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense appoint  a  member  to  represent  her  state  in 
this  important  work.  In  each  state  in  which  there 
is  a  military  camp  the  name  of  the  man  in  charge  of 
the  recreational  activities  outside  of  the  camp  was 

86 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

sent  to  the  state  chairman  with  the  request  that  she 
communicate  with  him  and  offer  the  services  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  in  the  state.  Inside  the  camps 
the  work  is  all  to  be  done  by  the  Young  Men 's  Chris- 
tian Association.  In  the  beginning  no  plans  seem  to 
have  been  made  by  the  Navy  Department  for  the 
recreations  and  protections  around  the  naval  camps, 
Mr.  Fosdick  not  having  charge  of  these,  and  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  having  charge  only  of  fhe  outside  of  the  camps. 
The  Woman's  Committee,  through  its  chairman  of 
Health  and  Recreation,  took  up  the  matter  of  influ- 
ences surrounding  the  naval  camps  in  the  interest  of 
an  arrangement  similar  to  that  regarding  the  mili- 
tary camps. 

In  every  state  where  camps  of  soldiers  are  in 
training  the  W^oman's  Committee  has  been  grappling 
with  the  grist  of  problems  that  they  create.  First, 
there  is  the  problem  of  hospitality.  What  will  be 
practical  and  acceptable  for  them  to  undertake? 
One  worker  divides  the  work  into  retail  and  whole- 
sale hospitality.  The  former  consists  of  inviting  the 
boys  into  the  homes,  taking  them  on  motor  drives, 
and  furnishing  them  healthful  amusements  and 
wholesome  company.  Wholesale  hospitality  is  de- 
fined as  that  undertaken  by  the  big  organizations 
where  soldiers  and  sailors  are  invited  en  masse  to 
lectures,  entertainments,  or  dinners. 

As  soon  as  the  North  Carolina  Division  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  learned  that  there  was  to  be  a 
cantonment  of  some  sixty  thousand  men  near  Char- 
lotte, the  women  at  once  began  to  lay  their  plans  to 
cooperate  with  the  city  authorities  in  making  the 
camp  what  they  would  desire  it  to  be.     The  State 

87 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Eugene  Reilly,  said  that  the  Com- 
mittee on  Health  and  Recreation  was  most  active  in 
arranging  with  all  the  women's  organizations  of  the 
community  to  provide  entertainment  for  the  soldiers. 
They  arranged  that  every  organization  in  the  town 
should  adopt  or  stand  sponsor  for  one  company  of 
men,  furnishing  them  with  amusements,  magazines 
and  books,  inviting  them  to  church  and  to  dinner, 
opening  their  club  or  society  rooms  to  them,  and  in 
every  way  possible  surrounding  them  with  whole- 
some and  friendly  influences.  The  Committee  Chair- 
man said  that  the  women  were  just  as  attentive  to 
the  soldiers  who  come  to  them  as  strangers  from 
New  England  as  they  are  to  their  own  boys,  **and,*' 
she  adds,  '*we  expect  that  strangers  will  do  the  same 
for  our  boys.*' 

Certainly  Massachusetts  reciprocated  this  thought- 
fulness.  A  special  committee  from  the  women's  col- 
leges provided  club  houses  and  homes  outside  the 
camp.  Their  purpose  is  to  have  as  many  of  these 
homes  as  possible  where  soldiers  will  find  recreation, 
friendly  interest  and  refined  surroundings;  the  kind 
of  homes  from  which  the  majority  of  them  have  come. 
Each  home  will  be  provided  for  by  a  separate  col- 
lege group,  either  alumnae,  undergraduates,  or  both, 
and  each  will  have  a  college  ** mother.''  The  college 
mother  will  be  permanent  or  as  nearly  so  as  possible, 
but  the  helpers  may  vary  from  week  to  week.  A  few 
will  give  their  services  in  the  home  itself  and  others 
will  provide  the  things  needed  to  make  it  attractive — 
furnishings,  games,  books,  pianos,  victrolas.  Such 
an  undertaking  is  particularly  practicable  in  the 
case  of  the  reserve  officer  training  camps  made  up 

88 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

largely  of  college  men.  With  modifications  to  suit 
local  needs  the  plan  could  be  worked  out  to  advantage 
in  connection  with  almost  any  camp. 

A  helpful  camp  service  in  which  many  o.f  the 
State  Divisions  are  preparing  to  cooperate,  is  that 
undertaken  by  the  American  Library  Association. 
It  is  organizing  committees  to  collect  and  distribute 
reading  matter  in  the  training  camps  and  has  even 
prepared  to  put  up  libraries  in  some  of  the  camps. 
The  Missouri  Division  took  hold  of  this  work  with 
particular  zest,  giving  the  matter  wide  publicity  and 
arranging  for  the  collection  of  books  at  local  libraries 
throughout  the  states.  It  has  even  furnished  boxes 
of  the  proper  dimensions  in  which  to  pack  the  books 
collected. 

Several  of  the  groups  of  women  involved  have  re- 
echoed the  word  laid  down  by  the  Library  Associa- 
tion, that  only  worth-while  books  are  wanted.  "Do 
not  go  up  to  the  garret  and  pick  up  material  that 
has  been  discarded  because  it  is  too  dull  to  be  kept 
on  the  library  shelves — give  the  boys  the  best.  They 
want  good  fiction.  They  are  keen  for  scientific 
books  and  periodicals.  They  want  everything  you 
can  give  them  about  war,  about  sports,  they  want  the 
news  of  the  world.  Because  a  thing  has  been  printed 
and  bound  it  does  not  follow  that  it  will  be  useful  to 
send  to  a  cantonment.''  No  woman,  either,  need 
have  any  doubt  about  her  contributions  being  well 
taken  care  of.  The  American  Library  Association  is 
directly  responsible  to  the  Government  in  this  work. 

WThere  soldiers  are  temporarily  camped  in  a  town, 
or  where  they  are  traveling,  one  much  appreciated 
attention  is  supervising  the  food  that  the  boys  get. 

89 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

This  seems  to  have  been  managed  very  well  by  the 
women  of  the  Woman's  Committee  in  Grand  Rapids, 
Michigan.  They  responded  immediately  not  only  to 
the  call  of  furnishing  good  wholesome  amusements 
for  the  boys  mobilized  at  their  gates,  but  during  the 
two  weeks  when  the  camp  of  eight  hundred  boys  was 
at  Grand  Rapids  they  furnished  their  meals.  The 
different  days  of  the  week  were  assigned  to  various 
organizations  so  that  while  hundreds  of  women  were 
engaged  in  the  feeding  of  the  soldiers,  no  one  group 
was  in  constant  service.  In  the  two  weeks  the  women 
furnished  thirteen  hundred  meals,  including  break- 
fasts, dinners  and  suppers.  They  did  it  so  economi- 
cally that  from  the  allotment  of  twenty-five  cents  per 
head  a  meal,  they  had  a  surplus  to  go  into  the  mess 
fund  of  the  Grand  Rapids  Battalion,  and  the  boys  were 
satisfied,  for  when  the  camp  broke  up  the  praise  came 
to  the  women  from  all  sides  for  the  catering  they  had 
done. 

The  greatest  of  all  problems  that  confront  the 
w^omen  in  the  vicinity  of  the  camps  is  that  of  guard- 
ing the  young  girl.  WTiere  soldiers  are  stationed 
either  temporarily  or  permanently,  the  problem  of 
preventing  girls  from  being  misled  by  the  glamour  and 
romance  of  war  and  beguiling  uniforms  looms  large. 
Maryland  has  proposed  a  Patriotic  League  of  Honor 
which  will  inspire  girls  to  adopt  the  highest  stand- 
ards of  womanliness  and  loyalty  to  their  country. 
From  New  York  comes  the  suggestion  that  the  teach- 
ers of  girls  may  be  invaluable  in  making  girls  realize 
the  dangers.  In  clubs  formed  for  war  service  guid- 
ance could  be  given  incidentally  with  instruction. 
Girls  employed  in  the  big  industries  are  most  in 

90 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

danger,  but  if  some  happy  slogan  should  be  found 
which  would  in  itself  constitute  a  sort  of  badge  of 
courage  and  loyalty,  it  would  be  far  better  than  de- 
pending on  supervision.  The  number  it  is  possible 
to  chaperone  carefully  is  necessarily  limited. 

Mrs.  Philip  N.  Moore,  Chairman  of  the  Health 
and  Recreation  Department,  made  the  following 
recommendations  which  were  adopted  by  the  Com- 
mittee as  part  of  the  plan  of  work  for  that  Depart- 
ment: ''The  Health  and  Recreation  Department  of 
the  State  Divisions  of  the  Woman's  Committee  will 
work  outside  the  camps  and  where  men  are  in  very 
small  groups.  The  Committee  suggests  training 
schools  for  protective  officers,  resembling  those  of 
England,  to  be  established  in  two  or  three  cities  in 
the  United  States  and  to  be  run  in  connection  with 
Schools  of  Philanthropy.  The  Committee  will  ask 
these  divisions  to  assist  in  developing  the  neighbor- 
ing communities  with  adequate  facilities  for  provid- 
ing entertainment,  comforts  and  recreation.  The 
request  will  also  be  made  that  they  attempt  to  co- 
ordinate all  organized  and  individual  work  that  may 
be  offered.  The  plan  includes  conferences  with  com- 
munity organizations,  such  as  churches,  lodges,  local 
Red  Cross,  Salvation  Army,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  etc.,  with  a 
view  to  a  composite  program.  It  will  also  include  a 
request  to  the  women  of  the  country  to  throw  open 
their  homes  and  clubs  to  soldiers  and  enlist  the  aid 
of  religious,  social  and  fraternal  organizations.*' 

The  United  States  Government  has  spoken  in  no 
uncertain  terms  as  to  what  it  expects  of  the  existing 
philanthropic  and  charitable  agencies,  the  women's 
organizations  and  the  machinery  of  the  various  state 

91 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

organizations  in  the  matter  of  providing  every  pro- 
tection for  the  men  in  the  camps.  The  result  of  a 
general  survey  of  the  philanthropic  agencies  of  the 
country  was  very  carefully  tabulated;  the  needs  of 
the  charities  or  protective  associations  were  formu- 
lated; charts  showing  opportunities  for  service  were 
prepared;  and  the  strength  of  the  plans  was  reen- 
forced  by  publicity  in  the  daily  papers.  Women 
who  were  willing  to  do  social  service  work  were 
asked  to  aid  in  this  Department  and  to  take  a  course 
in  training  for  the  work.  The  Department  asked 
state  chairmen  to  see  to  it  that  lists  of  the  training 
classes  in  philanthropy  and  social  service  should  be 
posted  side  by  side  with  the  charts  showing  opportu- 
nities for  service  in  the  local  charities,  and  that  they 
be  given  equal  publicity. 

The  attitude  of  the  Government  on  this  subject  is 
best  shown  by  a  letter  which  was  sent  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  to  the  Governor  in  each  state  and  to  each 
state  chairman  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense. 
In  this  letter  the  Secretary  said, 

I  am  very  anxious  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the  State 
Councils  of  Defense  a  matter  in  which  they  can  be  of 
great  service  to  the  War  Department.  In  the  training 
camps  already  established  or  soon  to  be  established  large 
bodies  of  men,  selected  primarily  from  the  youth  of  the 
country,  will  be  gathered  together  for  a  period  of  intensive 
discipline  and  training.  The  greater  proportion  of  this 
force  probably  will  be  made  up  of  young  men  who  have 
not  yet  become  accustomed  to  contact  with  either  the  saloon 
or  the  prostitute,  and  who  will  be  at  that  plastic  and  gener- 
ous period  of  life  when  their  service  to  their  country  should 
be  surrounded  by  safeguards  against  temptations  to  which 
they  axe  not  accustomed. 

92 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

Our  responsibility  in  this  matter  is  not  open  to  question. 
We  cannot  allow  these  young  men,  most  of  whom  will  have 
been  drafted  to  service,  to  be  surrounded  by  a  vicious  and 
demoralizing  environment,  nor  can  we  leave  anything  un- 
done which  will  protect  them  from  unhealthy  influences  and 
crude  forms  of  temptation.  Not  only  have  we  an  in- 
escapable responsibility  in  this  matter  to  the  families  and 
communities  from  which  these  young  men  are  selected,  but, 
from  the  standpoint  of  our  duty  and  our  determination 
to  create  an  efficient  army,  we  are  bound,  as  a  military 
necessity,  to  do  everything  in  our  power  to  promote  the 
health  and  conserve  the  vitality  of  the  men  in  the  training 
camps. 

I  am  determined  that  our  new  training  camps,  as  well  as 
the  surrounding  zones  within  an  effective  radius,  shall  not 
be  places  of  temptation  and  peril.  The  amendments  to  the 
Army  Bill  recently  passed,  a  copy  of  which  I  enclose  here- 
with (Sections  12  and  13),  give  the  War  Department  more 
authority  in  this  matter  than  we  previously  possessed.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  are  not  going  to  be  able  to  obtain  the 
conditions  necessary  to  the  health  and  vitality  of  our  sol- 
diers, without  the  full  cooperation  of  the  local  authorities 
in  the  cities  and  towns  near  which  our  camps  are  located, 
or  through  which  our  soldiers  will  be  passing  in  transit  to 
other  points. 

Will  you  give  earnest  consideration  to  this  matter  in 
your  particular  state?  I  am  confident  that  much  can  be 
done  to  arouse  the  cities  and  towns  to  an  appreciation  of 
their  responsibility  for  clean  conditions;  and  I  would  sug- 
gest that,  through  such  channels  as  may  present  them- 
selves to  you,  you  impress  upon  these  communities  their 
patriotic  opportunity  in  this  matter.  I  would  further  sug- 
gest that  as  an  integral  part  of  the  war  machinery  your 
Council  make  itself  responsible  for  seeing  that  the  laws  of 
your  State  and  of  Congress  in  respect  to  these  matters  are 
strictly  enforced.    This  relates  not  only  to  the  camps  estab- 

93 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

lished  under  Federal  authority,  both  the  present  officers* 
training  camps  and  the  divisional  training  camps  soon  to 
be  opened,  but  to  the  more  or  less  temporary  mobilization 
points  of  the  national  guard  units.  It  relates,  too,  as  I 
have  indicated,  to  the  large  centers  through  which  soldiers 
will  constantly  be  passing  in  transit  to  other  points. 

As  I  say,  the  War  Department  intends  to  do  its  full  part 
in  these  matters,  but  we  expect  the  cooperation  and  support 
of  the  local  communities.  If  the  desired  end  cannot  other- 
wise be  achieved,  I  propose  to  move  the  camps  from  those 
neighborhoods  in  which  clean  conditions  cannot  be  secured. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
PATRIOTIC  EDUCATION 

Nation-wide  plans  are  set  on  foot  to  induce  3,000,000 
immigrants  to  attend  night  schools — "America  First" 
Campaign  launched — Women's  organizations  asked  to 
help — Woman's  Committee  appoints  Mrs.  Catt  Chair- 
man of  Education — Foreign  women  flock  to  night 
schools  in  Chicago,  bringing  their  babies — Volunteer 
nurses  called  for. 

A  CAMPAIGN  of  vital  importance  and  one  in  which 
women  have  played  conspicuous  parts  is  that  called 
**The  America  First"  Campaign  in  the  interest  of 
reaching  the  3,000,000  non-English-speaking"  immi- 
grants in  America.  Participating  in  this  campaign 
of  patriotic  education  are  chambers  of  commerce  of 
various  cities,  educational  associations,  religious  and 
philanthropic  organizations  and  a  large  number  of 
miscellaneous  societies.  The  campaign  is  being  di- 
rected by  the  Division  of  Immigrant  Education. 
United  States  Department  of  Education.  In  normal 
times  this  division  pursues  activities  which  may  be 
classified  as  follows :  surveys,  field  investigations,  and 
research  to  ascertain  conditions,  facilities,  and  needs, 
in  order  to  establish  the  basis  for  constructive  na- 
tional, state,  and  local  work ;  publicity  through  news 
letters,  circular  letters,  bulletins,  articles  in  the  daily 
and  periodical  press,  exhibits,  special  reports,  and  by 

95 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

lectures  and  addresses;  organization  of  cooperation 
among  public  and  private  agencies,  by  serving  as  a 
clearing  house,  by  projecting  plans  of  work,  and  by 
developing  organized  facilities  upon  request ;  counsel, 
given  through  conferences,  committee  meetings,  per- 
sonal interviews,  and  correspondence. 

On  the  first  of  September,  1917,  there  was  begun 
through  the  cooperation  of  educators  and  various  in- 
dustrial and  social  agencies  of  the  United  States  a 
systematic  campaign,  (1)  for  the  improvement  of 
existing  agencies,  (2)  for  the  creation  of  such  agen- 
cies where  they  do  not  exist,  (3)  for  giving  to  foreign- 
born  persons  in  the  United  States  the  fullest  and 
best  opportunities  for  such  instruction  as  will  fit  them 
for  American  industrial,  social  and  civic  life  and  for 
citizenship,  and  (4)  for  inducing  all  such  persons 
to  make  the  fullest  possible  use  of  the  opportunities 
offered.  This  is  the  ''America  First"  campaign,  the 
ultimate  object  of  which  is  a  unified  and  intelligent 
American  life  and  citizenship. 

One  object  of  the  campaign  has  been  to  induce  the 
3,000,000  non-English-speaking  immigrants  to  attend 
night  schools  and  learn  the  common  language  of 
America. 

To  achieve  this  purpose  and  to  insure  complete 
cooperation  and  organization  on  a  nation-wide  basis, 
Dr.  Philander  P.  Claxton,  United  States  Commissioner 
of  Education,  upon  the  request  of  school  authorities 
and  others  interested,  has  designated  men  and  women 
who  deal  with  the  immigrant  and  his  problems  to  serve 
upon  a  National  Committee  of  One  Hundred.  Fed- 
eral officials,  representative  industrial  leaders,  educa- 
tors, state  labor  and  immigration  officials,  editors,  offi- 

96 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

cials  of  patriotic,  civic,  and  racial  organizations,  and 
interested  private  citizens  generally,  have  accepted 
with  evidences  of  an  eager  readiness  for  national  serv- 
ice. The  Honorable  John  Price  Jackson,  Pennsylva- 
nia State  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  Industry,  has 
been  appointed  chairman  of  the  Committee  and  Harri- 
son H.  Wheaton,  Specialist  in  Immigrant  Education  of 
the  Bureau  of  Education,  has  been  designated  chair- 
man of  the  Executive  Committee.  Under  the  direc- 
tion of  Mr.  Wheaton,  a  complete  plan  of  activities 
has  been  outlined  and  put  into  execution. 

The  forces  cooperating  in  this  campaign  embrace 
not  only  educational  institutions  and  organizations  of 
every  kind,  but  industrial  organizations  like  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica, individual  chambers  of  commerce,  manufactur- 
ing, transportation,  commercial  and  financial  inter- 
ests of  the  country,  working  through  organized  bodies 
and  through  individuals;  labor  unions  and  labor 
leaders;  social  service  organizations  covering  every 
field  of  welfare  and  philanthropic  endeavor  as  well  as 
religious  organizations  and  parochial  institutions; 
native  patriotic  and  fraternal  societies,  and  societies 
of  foreigners.  The  news-disseminating  agencies, 
such  as  the  daily  and  periodical  press — both  English 
and  foreign  language — and  the  motion-picture  thea- 
ters, have  shown  patriotic  willingness  to  assist  in 
forwarding  the  campaign. 

Among  the  great  national  organizations  entering 
into  the  undertaking  may  be  mentioned  the  National 
Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Eevolution,  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  the  General 
Federation  of  Women 's  Clubs  with  its  affiliated  State 

97 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Federations,  the  American  Association  of  Foreign 
Language  Newspapers,  the  National  Americanization 
Committee,  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, the  National  Association  of  Patriotic  Instruct- 
ors, the  Council  of  Jewish  Women,  the  American 
Library  Association,  the  Committee  for  Immigrants 
in  America,  and  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion. 

Americanization  of  the  foreigner  has  been  directed 
almost  exclusively  toward  assimilating  the  foreign 
man.  The  foreign  woman  has  hitherto  received 
scant  consideration.  Two  points  deserve  to  be  noted, 
however,  which  should  force  this  woman's  question 
upon  public  attention. 

In  the  so-called  suffrage  states,  the  man  of  the  fam- 
ily determines  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States.  He  complies  with  the  naturalization  law  by 
learning  English  and  demonstrating  his  fitness  to 
have  citizenship  conferred  upon  him.  By  the  same 
judicial  fiat  which  makes  the  man  a  citizen,  the  wife 
automatically  becomes  a  citizen.  Thenceforth,  she 
stands  upon  an  equality  with  the  American  woman, 
and  enjoys  the  same  franchise,  rights  and  privileges. 
Yet  the  foreign  woman  may  be  absolutely  ignorant 
of  English,  and  totally  unfitted  for  exercising  the 
right  of  suffrage.  In  these  states,  therefore,  Ameri- 
canization of  the  foreign  woman  is  a  civic  and  po- 
litical necessity.  This  argument  is  only  less  potent 
in  the  case  of  the  independent  woman  wage-earner, 
for  she,  too,  may  retain  her  independence,  and  be- 
come a  naturalized  citizen  under  the  same  conditions 
as  her  brother. 

Experience  has  shown  that  where  the  children  of 
98 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

foreign  parents  acquire  the  English  language  and 
the  parents  remain  ignorant  thereof,  a  disintegra- 
tion of  the  family  unit  is  almost  sure  to  follow. 
Children  in  their  impulsiveness  look  down  upon  the 
linguistic  limitations  of  their  elders,  in  some  cases 
even  ridiculing  covertly  or  openly  this  disability. 
Parental  discipline  and  control  are  dissipated,  and 
the  whole  family  fabric  becomes  weakened.  Thus 
one  of  the  great  conservative  forces  in  the  community 
becomes  inoperative.  Inasmuch  as  the  maternal  con- 
trol of  the  young  is  or  should  be  dominant,  Ameri- 
canization of  the  foreign  woman  through  language  is 
imperative. 

Furthermore,  it  is  well  known  that  the  foreign 
home  is  much  more  exclusive  than  the  American 
home.  Only  a  woman  can  effectively  break  through 
this  national  reserve.  It  is  important,  therefore, 
that  American  women  ^s  organizations  consider  this 
question  seriously,  for  they  can  be  of  invaluable 
assistance  in  overcoming  this  ultra  conservatism. 
Parent-Teachers'  Associations,  which  have  been 
largely  promoted  by  women's  organizations,  are  al- 
ready doing  effective  work  along  this  line.  Califor- 
nia has  taken  a  long  stride  forward  through  the 
passage  of  its  ''Home  Teacher  Act"  (1915),  legaliz- 
ing the  appointment  by  boards  of  education  of  a 
teacher  who  shall  spend  her  time  in  the  homes.  A 
sentence  of  this  act  reads  thus : 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  home  teaxihers  to  work  in 
the  homes  of  the  pupils,  instructing  children  and  adults 
in  matters  relating  to  school  attendance  and  preparation 
therefor;  also  in  sanitation,  in  the  English  language,  in 

99 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

household  duties  such  as  purchase,  preparation  and  use  of 
food  and  clothing,  and  in  the  fundamental  principles  of 
the  American  system  of  government  and  the  rights  and 
duties  of  citizenship. 

Knowledge  of  English  is  the  open  sesame  by  which 
the  foreigner  comes  into  contact  with  our  wonderful 
American  civilization.  It  is  likewise  the  way  of  ap- 
proach for  the  foreign  woman  to  American  acquaint- 
anceship and  American  friendship.  Without  this 
the  alien  woman  will  be  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land, 
shut  off  from  the  enjoyment  of  the  privileges  of 
American  social  life,  and  compelled  to  confine  her 
social  relations  to  those  of  her  own  nationality. 

Women's  clubs  have  a  marvelous  opportunity  to 
make  their  influence  effective  in  Americanizing  the 
foreigner.  They  can  join  in  the  *' America  First" 
Campaign  of  the  Bureau  of  Education  to  induce 
three  million  non-English-speaking  immigrants  to 
learn  our  language  and  fit  themselves  for  participa- 
tion in  American  life.  By  their  interest  and  par- 
ticipation in  this  movement,  they  can  demonstrate  to 
the  foreigner  that  he  is  welcome  in  our  great  na- 
tional family,  and  that  after  all  there  is  a  human 
side  to  this  extending  the  welcoming  hand  of  fellow- 
ship, quite  apart  from  the  selfish  appreciation  of  his 
worth  as  an  economic  asset.  They  can  stimulate 
local  school  authorities  to  provide  adequate  facilities 
for  the  foreigner  to  learn  English.  (This  means 
afternoon  classes  for  women  as  well  as  evening 
classes  for  men  and  women.)  They  can  encourage 
the  citizenship  reception  which  goes  far  toward  mak- 
ing both  men  and  women  feel  that  their  entrance  to 

100 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

American  citizenship  is  humanly  worth  while.  They 
can  form  groups,  as  has  been  done  by  the  Women's 
City  Club  of  Chicago  in  cooperation  with  the  Infant 
Welfare  Society,  to  teach  foreign  mothers  how  to 
feed  and  clothe  their  children  properly,  how  to  pre- 
vent the  spread  of  contagious  diseases,  and  can  in- 
struct them  as  to  the  legal  status  of  themselves  and 
their  children  under  our  civic  code.  They  can  co- 
operate with  the  Bureau  of  Education  in  the  employ- 
ment of  women  physicians  (following  the  plan  in- 
augurated so  successfully  by  the  Chicago  Board  of 
Education  in  the  winter  of  1912-13)  to  work  with 
foreign  mothers  on  a  general  health  side,  this  instruc- 
tion to  be  given  in  public,  school  buildings  after 
school  hours.  They  can  provide  nurses  for  the 
babies  while  these  mothers  are  at  school.  They  can 
see  that  ''Block  Matrons"  are  appointed,  as  at  Erie, 
Pa.,  who  learn  to  know  the  foreign  families  of  their 
neighborhood,  who  stand  back  of  school  authorities 
in  urging  the  men  and  women  to  learn  English,  and 
who  become  neighbors,  friends,  and  veritable  mother 
confessors  to  the  foreign  women  of  the  block.  They 
can  organize  Americanization  committees  to  study 
the  whole  problem,  and  work  out  other  means  of  local 
application  to  combat  this  non-assimilation  situation 
which  is  confronting  every  community  having  any 
considerable  number  of  foreign  born  inhabitants. 

In  these  and  other  ways  which  the  collective  in- 
genuity of  the  Women's  Club  members  will  readily 
devise,  the  organized  women  of  this  country  can  play 
an  important  part  in  making  ours  a  country  with  a 
common  language,  a  common  purpose,  a  common  set 
of  ideals — a  unified  America. 

101 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  has  varied 
facilities  for  promoting  this  Americanization  work, 
and  will  gladly  put  these  at  the  disposal  of  organiza- 
tions or  individuals  who  are  sufficiently  interested  to 
write  for  further  specific  information  or  suggestions. 
Such  correspondence  should  be  addressed  to  the 
Bureau  of  Education,  Division  of  Immigrant  Educa- 
tion, Washington,  D.  C.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  Divi- 
sion to  be  of  national  service  in  dealing  with  the 
complex  problem  of  immigration  and  to  cooperate 
with  every  possible  agency  in  effecting  its  solution. 

In  order  that  women  may  appreciate  the  Ameri- 
canization problem  as  it  applies  to  women,  figures 
have  been  compiled  from  the  U.  S.  Census  Report  for 
1910,  which  give  for  each  state,  certain  statistics  re- 
lating to  the  number  of  women  of  twenty-one  years 
of  age  and  over;  (1)  total  number  of  white  women; 
(2)  number  of  foreign-born  white  women;  (3)  num- 
ber of  foreign-born  white  women  unable  to  speak 
English;  and  (4)  number  of  foreign-bom  white 
women  attending  school. 

Comparison  of  the  figures  under  3  and  4  will  give 
the  problem  for  each  State,  as  far  as  non-English- 
speaking  adult  foreign  women  are  concerned. 

For  the  country  as  a  whole,  1.2%  of  the  non-Eng- 
lish-speaking white  women  are  attending  school,  or 
were  attending  school  during  the  period  covered  by 
the  1910  Census  Report.  The  corresponding  figure 
for  both  sexes  is  1.3%,  showing  that  slightly  fewer 
women  in  this  category  attend  school  than  men.  In 
either  case,  the  number  of  these  non-English-speak- 
ing adults  in  school  is  insignificant.  The  problem 
which  the  ''America  First"  Campaign  is  designed  to 

102 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

attack  is,  therefore,  a  problem  of  adult  education  for 
both  men  and  women,  and  it  is  likely  to  tax  our  best 
efforts  for  its  solution. 

Organized  women's  clubs  can  bend  their  energies 
to  no  other  task  where  the  need  is  so  crying  or  the 
reward  of  accomplishment  so  satisfying. 

Dr.  Charles  Eliot  said:  ''The  United  States 
have  made  a  great  contribution  to  civilization  in 
demonstrating  that  the  people  belonging  to  a  great 
variety  of  races  or  nations  are,  under  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, fitted  for  political  freedom.'* 

The  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense,  realizing  at  once  the  need  of  aggres- 
sive effort  toward  the  ''patriotic  education"  of  the 
immigrant  population,  and  especially  of  immigrant 
women,  created  a  committee  on  education  as  one  of 
its  divisions  of  work  and  appointed  Mrs.  Carrie 
Chapman  Catt  chairman.  In  the  interest  of  patri- 
otic education  the  Woman's  Committee  planned  pub- 
lic mass  meetings  of  women  all  over  the  United 
States.  These  meetings  formed  the  initial  part  of 
the  plan  of  the  Educational  Department  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  which  Mrs.  Catt  is  chairman.  Soon  after 
her  appointment  Mrs.  Catt  stated  to  the  Woman's 
Committee  that  millions  of  people  in  the  United 
States  did  not  clearly  understand  why  we  were  at 
war  or  the  imperative  necessity  of  winning  the  war 
if  future  generations  were  to  be  protected  from  the 
menace  of  an  unscrupulous  militarism.  Mrs.  Catt 
said  there  was  evidence  on  every  side  of  ignorance 
and  apathy  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Women,  she 
said,  are  the  greatest  sentiment  makers  of  any  com- 
munity.    They  have  time  to  talk,  time  to  read,  and 

103 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

time  to  go  to  meetings.  "There  is  no  machinery  in 
our  country  now,''  said  Mrs.  Catt,  *' which  can  carry 
a  message  to  the  remotest  hamlet  quite  so  successfully 
as  can  the  Woman's  Committee  with  its  fifty-two 
divisional  chairmen,  including  one  for  each  of  the 
forty-eight  states  and  one  each  for  Guam,  Alaska,  the 
Philippines  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  Each  state 
has  its  county,  city  and  rural  community  chairman, 
so  there  is  hardly  a  school  district  which  cannot  be 
reached. 

**In  a  general  way  the  men  of  our  country  have 
realized  that  women  have  many  and  large  organiza- 
tions, but  they  have  not  comprehended  how  easy  it 
has  been  to  unite  all  these  organizations  in  this  tre- 
mendous machinery  which  has  been  perfected  and 
adjusted  with  amazing  efficiency.  There  are  prob- 
ably one  hundred  thousand  women  now  officering  this 
great  woman  army,  and  through  them  we  propose  to 
spread  to  at  least  twenty  millions  of  women  the 
message  we  get  here  in  the  Capital  of  the  nation. 
The  first  message  we  want  to  send  to  the  women  now 
is  that  whether  the  nation  likes  it  or  does  not  like  it 
we  are  in  war,  and  that  whether  the  sacrifices  neces- 
sary to  win  it  are  made  willingly  or  unwillingly  they 
must  be  made,  or  the  generation  that  follows  us  will 
find  itself  drawn  into  a  similar  maelstrom  to  that 
which  now  involves  all  the  chief  nations  of  the  world. 
We  propose  to  begin  a  vast  educational  movement 
with  lantern  slides,  movies,  lectures  and  literature, 
which  will  carry  to  the  women  of  the  nation  the 
graphic  story  of  the  war.  When  the  women  under- 
stand, all  will  be  fervently  enlisted  to  push  the  war 
to  victory  as  rapidly  as  possible.    With  the  women 

104 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

behind  it  the  end  will  come  sooner,  and  with  more 
certainty  this  war  will  prove  to  be  the  war  to  end 
wars. ' ' 

In  the  states  where  the  foreign  population  is  large 
women  have  worked  indefatigably  and  with  telling 
effect. 

A  Department  of  Naturalization  has  been  started 
by  the  Nebraska  Division.  Nebraska  women  felt  that 
such  a  Department  would  do  incalculable  good,  arous- 
ing in  women  the  feeling  that  there  should  be  no  alien 
in  America.  They  are  securing  zealous  workers  of 
each  nationality  represented  in  the  state  to  interest 
women  in  naturalization.  '^  These  spread  the  news 
among  the  men,"  writes  Miss  Hrbkova,  the  Nebraska 
Chairman,  *'and  Nebraska  already  shows  some  good 
returns  in  applications  of  men  for  naturalization,  for 
it  appears  that  they  do  not  want  to  be  outdone  by  the 
women  in  making  good  their  chance  at  American  citi- 
zenship." 

In  several  other  states,  the  Woman's  Committee  is 
either  initiating  a  plan  of  Americanization,  or  is  al- 
lying itself  with  work  already  started.  Thus,  in 
Maryland,  the  Division  is  interesting  itself  in  the 
data  gathered  by  the  General  Census  Board.  They 
determine  the  number  of  foreigners  who  attend  the 
night  school,  and  from  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
and  the  U.  S.  District  Court,  are  finding  out  the 
number  who  have  taken  out  first  and  second  papers. 
They  are  also  using  the  special  census  lately  taken 
in  Maryland.  Altogether  Maryland's  job  is  to  win 
about  104,000  foreign  born. 

In  Seattle  they  are  cooperating  with  a  Federal 
Association,  planning  a  survey  of  the  county. 

105 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Miss  Mary  McDowell,  head  of  the  University  of 
Chicago  settlement  and  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Women  in  Industry  in  the  Council  of 
National  Defense,  has  plans  to  teach  English  to  for- 
eign women  who  are  working  in  Chicago  shops  and 
factories. 

The  Committee  of  Women  of  the  Illinois  Council 
of  National  Defense  has  received  requests  for  infor- 
mation on  this  subject  from  other  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  plan  may  be  adopted  in  many  other 
cities. 

A  story  from  Chicago  is  to  the  effect  that  so  many 
foreign  women  who  came  to  one  of  the  schools  to 
learn  English  brought  their  babies  that  the  teachers 
in  charge  had  to  issue  a  hurry  call  for  volunteer 
nurses. 

In  Michigan  remarkable  work  has  been  done,  and 
in  Minnesota  also  some  novel  and  effective  ideas  have 
been  worked  out. 

The  National  Americanization  Committee  advises: 

Americanize  one  Immigrant  Woman 

Get  one  Immigrant  to  become  a  Citizen 

Teach  one  Foreign-Bom  Mother  EngUsh 

Put  one  Immigrant  Family  on  your  Calling  List. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  LIBERTY  LOAN 

More  than  1,000,000  women  subscribe  in  first  sale  of 
bonds — One-third  of  all  Liberty  Bond  buyers  are 
women — Remarkable  campaign  of  organization  and 
education  conducted  by  Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Com- 
mittee, Mrs.  McAdoo,  Chairman. 

The  Liberty  Loan,  to  which  it  is  estimated  a  mil- 
lion women  subscribed  in  the  first  sale  of  bonds,  was 
not  essentially  designed  as  a  woman's  activity.  As  a 
financial  measure  required  for  the  raising  of  money 
to  pay  for  the  food,  clothing,  shelter  and  maintenance 
of  American  soldiers,  sailors  and  marines,  the  Loan 
seemed  naturally  apart  from  the  usual  work  of 
women  in  war  time;  but  the  quick  response  of  the 
women  of  the  United  States  to  the  opportunity  to 
subscribe  to  the  first  issue  associated  women  with 
the  work  so  speedily  after  its  announcement  that  the 
President,  in  order  that  women  should  be  repre- 
sented in  the  councils  of  undertaking,  appointed  the 
Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Committee.  Mrs.  McAdoo, 
wife  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  daughter 
of  the  President,  accepted  the  chairmanship  for  the 
Committee,  the  other  members  being:  Mrs.  An- 
toinette Ftmk,  Chicago,  vice-chairman;  Miss  Mary 
Synon,  executive  secretary;  Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman 
Catt;  Mrs.  George  Bass;  Mrs.  F.  L.  Higginson;  Mrs. 

107 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Frank  A.  Vanderlip;  Mrs.  J.  C.  Miller;  Mrs.  Kel- 
logg Fairbank;  Mrs.  Guilford  Dudley;  Mrs.  George 
Thaeher  Guernsey. 

The  Committee  found  that  its  work  divided  itself 
into  organization  and  education.  The  educational 
campaign,  intended  to  bring  home  to  the  women  of 
the  United  States  the  financial  advantages  and  the 
patriotic  duty  involved  in  their  purchase  of  Liberty 
Loan  Bonds,  occupied  the  larger  part  of  the  atten- 
tion of  the  members  of  the  committee  during  the 
first  issue.  For  the  following  issue  of  the  Loan  the 
committee  has  been  perfecting  an  organization  which 
includes  hundreds  of  thousands  of  women  as  active 
workers. 

The  first  work  of  the  Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Com- 
mittee was  the  task  of  briuging  home  to  the  women 
of  the  United  States  the  fact  that  the  Liberty  Loan 
bond  was  a  good  investment,  siuce  it  was  really  a 
mortgage  upon  the  resources  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  payiug  3l^  per  cent,  interest  in 
semi-annual  payments  and  with  this  income  from  it 
not  subject  to  taxation.  On  its  very  face  a  Liberty 
bond  is  the  safest  investment  in  the  world,  backed  as 
it  is  by  the  assurance  of  the  richest  government  on 
earth ;  but  since  women  have  not  been  accustomed  to 
investment,  a  large  part  of  the  work  of  the  commit- 
tee was  the  demonstration  to  women  that  investment 
itself  is  desirable. 

In  addition  to  this,  it  was  necessary  to  point  out 
that  any  government  has  but  two  means  of  raising 
money  for  the  conduct  of  a  war,  namely,  bond  issues 
or  taxation.  In  an  expertly  planned  and  managed 
campaign  the  Woman's  Liberty  Loau  Committee  also 

108 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

brought  home  to  the  women  of  America  some  strik- 
ing facts.  It  reminded  them  that  if  the  Government 
should  fail  to  raise  money  by  bond  issues,  then  taxa- 
tion, both  direct  and  indirect,  would  be  necessary  to 
a  degree  that  would  materially  affect  every  house- 
hold and  every  individual  in  the  country ;  that  if  the 
government  of  the  United  States  had  to  raise  money 
for  the  prosecution  of  this  war  by  taxation,  then 
every  woman  in  the  country  would  have  to  pay  taxes 
upon  all  the  luxuries  and  some  of  the  necessities  of 
life — there  would  probably  be  taxes  on  shoes,  coffee, 
sugar,  tea,  hats,  gloves,  garments,  on  almost  any- 
thing and  everythmg  women  want  and  use;  and  it 
was  shown  that  the  money  raised  thereby,  while  paid 
by  the  individual,  would  never  return  to  her  except 
in  the  general  good  insured  by  payment  of  taxes. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  Liberty  bond,  if  purchased 
in  1917,  would  be  payable  in  1947.  Through  the 
thirty  years  of  its  continuance  it  would  be  earning 
interest  for  the  investor  at  a  higher  rate  than  that 
given  by  savings  banks.  At  any  time  it  would  be 
negotiable.  The  woman  who  bought  one  could,  if 
she  needed  the  money,  take  it  to  a  bank  anywhere  in 
the  United  States  and  dispose  of  it  at  its  market 
value.  She  could  borrow  money  upon  it,  for  United 
States  government  bonds  have  been  for  years  the 
world's  best  security.  In  short,  the  purchase  of  a 
Liberty  bond  was  practically  an  insurance  for  the 
woman  who  bought  it. 

The  teaching  of  these  points  to  the  women  of  the 
United  States  engrossed  the  attention  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  during  the  progress  of  the  first 
issue  of  the  Loan.     That  American  women  were  quick 

109 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

to  grasp  the  double  opportunity  for  patriotic  service 
and  safe  investment  vras  shown  by  the  fact  that,  as 
nearly  as  may  be  estimated,  almost  one-third  of  the 
total  number  of  purchasers  of  Liberty  bonds  were 
women. 

Most  of  these  women  had  never  before  invested  in 
any  security.  Wherever  women  had  invested  previ- 
ously, they  literally  sprang  at  the  chance  of  this  in- 
vestment. In  Los  Angeles,  California,  where  thou- 
sands of  women  of  independent  means  have  their 
banking  accounts,  the  ratio  of  women  to  men  invest- 
ors in  the  Liberty  Loan  stood  seven  to  three.  Even 
in  Allegheny  County,  Pennsylvania,  where  most  of 
the  women  with  money  to  invest  had  earned  it  by 
hard  work,  every  third  investor,  barring  corporations, 
was  a  woman;  and  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  total  sub- 
scriptions in  Pittsburgh  were  those  made  by  women. 

The  interest  taken  by  the  women  of  the  country 
in  the  Liberty  Loan  inspired  the  Woman's  Liberty 
Loan  Committee  to  perfect  an  organization  of  women 
designed  to  include  practically  every  woman  in  the 
United  States.  Realizing  that  there  was  already  in 
existence  a  gigantic  machine  of  woman's  war  activity 
in  the  state  units  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the 
National  Council  of  Defense,  the  Woman's  Liberty 
Loan  Committee  decided  to  utilize  this  organization 
rather  than  try  to  build  up  an  organization  that 
would  only  duplicate  this  machine  in  membership 
and  possibly  divide  both  in  effort.  For  this  reason 
the  latter  committee  chose  the  state  as  the  unit  of 
organization  and  secured  from  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  authority  to 
have  Liberty  Loan  state  chairmen  appointed  on  the 

110 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

executive  committee  of  the  state  units  of  the  defense 
committee.  The  practical  working  out  of  this  ar- 
rangement runs  thus : 

The  Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Committee  chooses 
Mrs.  Barrett  Wendell  its  chairman  for  the  common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts,  forwarding  Mrs.  Wendell's 
nomination  to  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  National  Defense.  The  latter,  approving  I\Irs. 
Wendell,  sends  the  nomination  and  approval  to  the 
Massachusetts  unit  of  its  organization.  This  unit,  ac- 
cepting Mrs.  Wendell,  makes  her  a  member  of  its 
executive  body.  IMrs.  Wendell  then  automatically 
becomes  the  Liberty  Loan  agent  in  the  executive  body, 
having  at  her  command  the  organization  which  the 
unit  has  built  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  the  war 
work  of  women  in  the  state.  She  also  has  power  to 
inaugurate  new  bodies  for  the  Liberty  Loan  in  dis- 
tricts where  such  organization  has  not  been  es- 
tablished. In  short,  she  is  the  director  of  all  women's 
activities  for  the  Loan  in  her  state. 

For  every  state  and  territory  of  the  nation  there  is 
a  woman  Liberty  Loan  chairman.  These  chairmen 
were  chosen  by  the  Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Commit- 
tee for  their  organizing  ability,  and  to  them  has  been 
delegated  the  work  of  organizing  the  women  of  their 
states  or  territories. 

Because  the  Liberty  Loan,  however,  has  financial  as 
well  as  organization  problems,  the  Woman's  Liberty 
Loan  Committee  found  it  advisable  to  choose,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  state  chairmen,  another  group  of  officers, 
namely,  the  Federal  Reserve  Districts  chairmen,  one 
for  each  of  the  twelve  Federal  Reserve  Districts  of 
the  United  States.    These  women  are  delegates  from 

111 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Committee  to  the  Liberty 
Loan  Committees  of  the  Federal  Keserve  Bank 
Boards  of  their  respective  districts.  Their  work  is 
cooperation  with  the  Liberty  Loan  Committees  in  all 
matters  relating  to  the  participation  of  women  in 
the  Loan.  They  are  distributors  of  publicity  from 
the  committees  at  Washington.  They  are  intermedi- 
aries between  the  Liberty  Loan  Committees  of  their 
district  and  the  state  chairmen  whose  states  lie  in 
their  Federal  Reserve  districts.  Their  work  is  prac- 
tically ambassadorial,  whereas  the  work  of  the  state 
chairmen  is  largely  executive.  But,  since  each  Fed- 
eral Reserve  district  has  its  peculiar  problem,  each 
chairman  must  necessarily  become  executive  in  so  far 
as  the  solution  of  that  problem  is  her  vital  concern. 

In  addition  to  these  officers  the  Woman's  Liberty 
Loan  Committee  has  an  Advisory  Council,  composed 
of  the  heads  of  women's  organizations  of  national 
membership.  To  this  belong  nearly  all  the  women 
representing  national  societies  and  fraternal  organi- 
zations. The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 
the  Woman's  Benefit  Association  of  the  Maccabees, 
the  Association  of  Collegiate  Almunae,  the  Council 
of  Jewish  Women,  the  Young  Women's  Christian  As- 
sociation, the  Women's  Catholic  Benevolent  Legion, 
the  Women's  Home  Missions  Society  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  the  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy, 
the  Ladies  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  the 
International  People's  Aid  Association,  the  United 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  are  associations  that 
give  some  idea  of  the  scope  and  democracy  of  the 
cause.  Mrs.  George  Dewey  was  made  a  member  of  the 
Conncil  as  president  of  the  women's  section  of  the 

112 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

Navy  League.  So  was  Mrs.  James  W.  Wadsworth, 
president  of  the  National  Association  Opposed  to 
Woman  Suffrage.  The  Council  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the 
greatest  representative  bodies  of  women  ever  united 
for  a  common  cause  in  this  country ;  and  the  magnifi- 
cent work  done  by  its  members,  both  in  publicity  dur- 
ing the  first  issue,  and  in  both  publicity  and  organiza- 
tion since  the  ending  of  the  first  issue,  has  been  one  of 
the  primary  causes  of  the  success  of  the  Liberty  Loan. 
To  facilitate  the  work  of  the  Federal  Reserve  district 
and  state  chairmen,  the  Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Com- 
mittee has  directed  all  its  publicity  from  Washington, 
leaving  its  distribution  however,  except  in  certain 
groups,  to  the  chairmen.  These  groups  covered  in 
the  first  issue  the  circularization  of  the  Daughters  of 
the  American  Revolution,  who,  in  answer  to  the  ap- 
peal sent  them  by  Mrs.  George  Thacher  Guernsey, 
their  president-general  and  a  member  of  the  Commit- 
tee, subscribed  more  than  $1,500,000  to  the  Loan  in 
the  course  of  four  days.  The  Woman's  Committee 
of  the  Liberty  Loan,  in  addition  to  its  continuous 
newspaper  publicity,  circularized  millions  of  women 
on  farms  and  in  factories,  and  conducted  a  campaign 
through  the  schools  of  the  country  that  was  designed  to 
make  every  child  in  the  United  States  conversant  with 
the  primary  facts  of  the  Liberty  Loan.  Besides  this, 
the  Committee  has  adopted  posters,  buttons,  dodgers, 
placards  and  various  special  ideas  intended  to  pro- 
mote general  knowledge  of  the  purposes  and  benefits 
of  the  Loan. 

It  is  not  to  be  understood  by  the  fact  that  the 
Committee  had  devised  a  complete  organization  that 
there  was  no  room  for  women  workers  in  its  ranks. 

113 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

On  the  contrary,  the  Liberty  Loan  is  a  governmental 
activity  open  to  every  person  in  the  United  States. 
Every  woman  in  the  country  could  become  either  a 
purchaser  of  a  Liberty  bond  or  a  promoter  of  its 
purchase.  It  was  not  even  necessary  for  her  to  be 
a  citizen.  Some  of  the  first  purchasers  in  the  earlier 
issues  were  women  not  yet  citizens,  Slovak  women  who 
declared  in  formal  resolution  when  their  organiza- 
tion bought  $50,000  worth  of  Liberty  bonds  that  no 
one  knew  better  than  did  they  the  meaning  of  the 
word  liberty. 

The  women  of  the  United  States  have  already 
shown  their  understanding  and  appreciation  of  the 
blessings  of  American  freedom  by  their  subscription 
to  the  first  issues  of  the  Liberty  Loan,  but  in  order 
that  the  world  may  know  that  the  women  of  this 
country  are  standing  back  of  our  nation's  fight  for 
those  ideals  of  government  that  mean  the  genuine 
freedom  of  womanhood,  it  is  right  that  every  woman 
in  the  land  should  be  either  purchaser  or  worker,  or 
both,  in  the  cause  of  the  Liberty  Loan.  It  is  the 
American  woman's  opportunity  to  prove  her  grati- 
tude for  the  security  she  has  enjoyed  so  long.  It  is 
her  chance  to  register  her  belief  in  a  lasting,  universal 
peace — for  peace  will  not  come  until  the  military  ag- 
gression of  any  one  nation  is  made  impossible — her 
chance  to  speed  the  ending  of  the  war,  her  chance  to 
provide  food  and  shelter  and  clothing  for  her  sons, 
her  chance  to  do  her  part  for  the  land  that  is  doing 
its  part  for  her.  That  is  the  message  of  the  Liberty 
Loan  to  American  women. 

The  Woman's  Committee,   at  the  request  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  turned  the  full  power  of 

114 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

its  machinery  to  help  in  the  sale  of  Liberty  Loan 
Bonds.  Every  state  unit  was  urgently  requested  by 
the  Woman's  Committee  to  include  "Liberty  Loan" 
as  one  of  its  departments  of  work  and  to  push  the 
sale  of  the  bonds  to  the  limit  of  its  power.  This 
every  unit  did  with  enthusiasm,  and  the  result 
amazed,  not  only  the  national  leaders,  but  the  women 
themselves. 

The  Liberty  Loan  Department  is  under  the  chair- 
manship of  Mrs.  Antoinette  Funk.  This  Department 
of  the  Woman's  Committee  collaborated  with  the 
Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Committee  in  the  distribution 
of  700,000  Liberty  Loan  primers  and  handbooks  to 
school  teachers,  1,500,000  specially  prepared  letters 
calculated  to  reach  farmers'  wives,  and  with  a  Speak- 
ers' Bureau,  under  the  direction  of  Miss  Florence 
Ward,  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  who  as- 
signed 1,600  extension  workers  as  speakers.  The  De- 
partment also  assisted  in  distributing  literature  and 
posters  and  in  directing  work  in  schools  and  among 
groups  immediately  under  their  supervision. 

It  is  too  early  at  this  writing  to  give  an  approxi- 
mate estimate  of  the  work  of  American  women  in 
carrying  out  the  nation's  financial  program,  but  it  is 
certainly  not  too  early  to  say  that  that  part  is  far 
greater  and  more  important  than  the  most  far-seeing 
person  dreamed  it  would  or  could  be. 

Mrs.  Antoinette  Funk,  as  executive  chairman  of  the 
Liberty  Loan  Committee,  displayed  a  genius  for  or- 
ganization and  executive  that  has  commanded  the  re- 
spect of  every  national  official  who  has  had  occasion  to 
come  in  contact  with  her  work.  Special  mention 
should  also  be  made  of  the  excellent  voluntary  serv- 

115 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ices  of  Miss  Mary  Syuon,  of  Chicago,  who  handled 
the  publicity  concerning  the  work  of  the  Woman's 
Liberty  Loan  Committee,  the  high  quality  of  which 
made  much  for  the  success  of  the  undertaking. 

The  Federal  Reserve  chairmen  are:  Mrs.  F.  L. 
Higginson,  Boston;  Mrs.  John  Pratt,  New  York 
Miss  Clara  Middleton,  Philadelphia;  Mrs.  Roger  G 
Perkins,  Cleveland,  Mrs.  Egbert  Leigh,  Richmond: 
Mrs.  P.  J.  McGovern,  Atlanta;  Miss  Grace  Dixon 
Chicago;  Miss  Florence  J.  Wade,  St.  Louis: 
Mrs.  C.  A.  Severance,  Minneapolis;  Mrs.  George  W 
Fuller,  Kansas  City;  Mrs.  E.  B.  Reppert,  Dallas 
Mrs.  A.  S.  Baldwin,  San  Francisco.  The  state  chair- 
men are :  Albama,  Mrs.  Solon  Jacobs ;  Arizona,  Miss 
Alice  N.  Birdsall;  Arkansas,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Brough; 
California,  Mrs.  E.  R.  Brainers;  Colorado,  Mrs.  E.  S. 
Kassler;  Connecticut,  Mrs.  Morgan  B.  Bulkeley,  vice- 
chairman,  Mrs.  R.  M.  Bissell;  Delaware,  Mrs.  W.  R. 
Orr ;  Georgia,  Mrs.  W.  R.  Leaken ;  Idaho,  Mrs.  Teresa 
M.  Graham;  Illinois,  Mrs.  Howard  T.  Willson;  In- 
diana, Mrs.  Fred  H.  McCulloch;  Iowa,  Mrs.  Wilbur 
W.  Marsh ;  Kentucky,  Mrs.  Donald  McDonald ;  Louisi- 
ana, Mrs.  Lawrence  Williams;  Maine,  Mrs.  John  F. 
Hill;  Maryland,  Mrs.  Robert  Garrett;  Massachusetts, 
Mrs.  Barrett  Wendell;  Michigan,  Mrs.  Delphine  D. 
Ashbaugh;  Minnesota,  Mrs.  Francis  Chamberlain; 
Montana,  Mrs.  W.  W.  McDowell;  Missouri,  Mrs. 
Philip  Moore;  Nebraska,  Mrs.  A.  G.  Peterson;  Ne- 
vada, Mrs.  Samuel  W.  Belford ;  New  Hampshire,  Mrs. 
Wm.  H.  Schofield ;  New  Jersey,  Mrs.  H.  O.  Wittpen ; 
New  Mexico,  Mrs.  J.  J.  Shuler;  New  York,  Mrs. 
Courtland  Barnes;  North  Carolina,  Mrs.  R.  J. 
Reynolds;  North  Dakota,  Miss  Minnie  Nielson;  Ore- 

116 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

gon,  Mrs.  Sarah  Evans;  Ohio,  Mrs.  Frank  J.  Mul- 
hauser;  Pennsylvania,  Mrs.  J.  0.  Miller;  Rhode 
Island,  Mrs.  Livingstone  Beekman  (Honorary),  Mrs. 
"Walter  A.  Peck  (Active)  ;  Tennessee,  Mrs.  Guiford 
Dudley;  Texas,  Mrs.  D.  E.  Waggoner;  Utah,  Mrs. 
W.  Mont  Ferry;  Vermont,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Smith;  Wash- 
ington, Mrs.  Overton  Ellis;  Wisconsin,  Mrs.  John  W. 
Mariner;  Wyoming,  Mrs.  T.  F.  Taliaferro. 


^ 


CHAPTER  X 
WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

More  than  2,000,000  of  America's  Women  who  work 
in  factories  deeply  affected  by  war — Women's  Labor 
Organizations  work  to  maintain  standards — National 
League  for  Woman's  Service  renders  valuable  aid — 
Value  of  this  work  recognized  by  the  Secretary  of 
Labor — United  States  establishes  employment  agencies 
throughout    the    country — The    Gompers    Committee. 

It  is  evident  to  the  least  observant  that  Labor's 
share  in  winning  the  war  is  second  in  importance 
only  to  that  of  the  military  arm  of  the  Government. 
It  is  also  evident  that  grave  dangers  will  attend  the 
shifting  of  women  into  men's  places  and  the  read- 
justment that  must  be  brought  about  by  the  with- 
drawal of  millions  of  men  from  American  industry. 
It  is  undoubtedly  in  the  industrial  and  economic  field 
that  the  war  will  mark  the  most  far-reaching  trans- 
formation in  the  condition  of  women.  Even  in  times 
of  peace  women  were  working  in  two  hundred  and 
ninety-five  trades  and  occupations  out  of  the  three 
hundred  and  three  listed  in  the  census,  and  we  can 
well  imagine  what  further  development  of  woman's 
work  and  woman's  power  is  to  be  brought  about  in 
the  near  future.  Of  the  millions  of  industrial  work- 
ers in  America  more  than  2,000,000  are  women,  and 
no  sooner  had  war  been  declared  in  Europe  than  the 

118 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

equilibrium  of  industrial  affairs  touching  women  be- 
gan to  be  upset  in  this  country.  The  real  problem, 
however,  began  to  be  acute  after  the  first  draft,  and 
various  agencies  have  been  at  work  to  remedy,  in  so 
far  as  they  could,  the  situation. 

The  most  important  phase  of  the  question  of 
women  in  industry  is  that  concerning  standards,  and 
very  early  in  the  war  the  National  Women's  Trade 
Union  League  of  America,  in  annual  session  at  Kan- 
sas City,  Missouri,  adopted  certain  standards  of  in- 
dustry for  government  contracts.  The  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Woman's  Work  in  War  Time  adopted 
by  the  delegates  to  this  convention  said: 

For  the  first  time  in  our  history,  trade  union  women 
representing  their  respective  trades  have  been  called  by 
the  Government  into  active  service  in  order  to  meet  intelli- 
gently the  difficulties  and  complications  which  will  arise  in 
the  industrial  field  as  the  result  of  our  entrance  into  the 
war.  It  is  therefore  incumbent  upon  us  to  consider  the 
best  way  of  protecting  the  great  mass  of  women  workers 
from  the  exploitation  that  may  follow. 

Trade  union  women  are  serving  on  conunittees  appointed 
by  the  Council  of  National  Defense  and  on  state  and  city 
defense  committees,  thereby  in  an  official  capacity  repre- 
senting the  interests  of  the  women  workers  and  voicing  for 
the  first  time  the  needs  of  this  most  exploited  group  in  the 
country. 

We  therefore  recommend  to  the  proper  government  com- 
mittees the  following  outline  of  standards  to  be  established 
for  government  contracts,  and  the  following  recommenda- 
tions to  protect  working  women  in  the  necessary  industrial 
adjustments  that  are  now  in  process  of  development. 


119 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Standards  of  Industry  for  Government  Contracts 

1.  Adult  labor. 

2.  Wages — 

a.  The  highest  prevailing  rate  of  wages  in  the 
industry  which  the  contract  affects. 

b.  Equal  pay  for  equal  work. 

c.  Those  trades  where  there  is  no  wage  standard 
whatsoever  shall  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  adjust- 
ment committee. 

d.  That  all  wages  be  adjusted  from  time  to  time 
to  meet  the  increased  cost  of  living — by  this  com- 
mittee— and  that  other  wage  questions  be  submitted 
to  it. 

3.  The  eight-hour  day. 

4.  One  day  rest  in  seven. 

5.  Prohibition  of  night  work  for  women. 

6.  Standards  of  sanitation  and  fire  protection. 

7.  Protection  against  over-fatigue  and  industrial  dis- 
eases. 

8.  Prohibition  of  tenement  house  labor. 

9.  Exemption  from  the  call  into  industry  of  women 
having  small  children  needing  their  care. 

10.     Exemption  from  the  call  into  industry  of  women  two 
months  before  and  after  child  birth. 

Regarding  the  shifting  of  women  into  men's  places 
the  report  continues :  ' '  In  the  adjustment  that  must 
follow  the  call  into  service  of  men,  women  will  in- 
evitably take  their  places.  There  will  be  grave  dan- 
ger that  they  will  be  paid  less  wages  than  men.  We 
therefore  recommend: 

First — that  the  Government  shall  require  in  its  contracts 
equal  pay  for  equal  work. 

120 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

Second — that  technical  and  trade  training  be  opened  to 
women  in  all  schools  and  colleges  on  equal  terms  with 
men. 

Third — that  in  the  establishment  of  local  committees  of 
mediation  and  conciliation  of  industrial  disputes,  trade 
union  women  as  well  as  men  be  appointed. 

Employment  Agencies  and  Transportation 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  at  this  time  that  the  fed- 
eral, state  and  city  employment  agencies  shall  be  perfected 
and  that  a  Woman's  Department  in  each  of  these  agencies 
shall  be  created.  The  closest  cooperation  should  exist  be- 
tween these  agencies  in  order  that  there  be  the  speediest 
adjustment  in  the  labor  market  and  that  women  shall  find 
opportunities  for  work  easily  without  unnecessary  delay  be- 
tween jobs. 

We  urge  the  Government  through  the  Department  of 
Labor  not  to  send  women  into  any  industry  unless  there  be 
guaranteed  the  standards  of  labor  set  forth  in  this  report. 
Where  women  are  sent  away  from  their  own  localities 
proper  housing  should  be  assured  them  and  transportation 
and  wages  for  the  days  spent  in  travel  should  be  furnished. 

In  order  to  carry  out  these  provisions  so  that  women 
workers  shall  be  protected  and  shall  not  lose  their  faith  in 
the  integrity  of  the  Government,  a  Transportation  Com- 
mittee should  be  established  connected  with  the  Government 
Agencies.  The  duty  of  this  Committee  shall  be  to  direct 
the  workers  to  decent  housing  accommodations  and  to  see 
that  the  places  of  employment  to  which  they  have  been 
assigned  are  open  on  their  arrival  and  conform  to  the  above 
standards.  (Such  agencies  as  the  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian Association  and  the  Travelers'  Aid  under  a  Govern- 
ment Committee  could  be  effectively  used  for  this  purpose.) 


121 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Cooperation  with  the  Secretary  of  Labor 

The  Committee  expresses  its  confidence  in  the  Secretary 
of  Labor  who  is  in  charge  of  this  work  and  recommends 
that  the  National  Women's  Trade  Union  League  offer  him 
our  united  support  and  cooperation  in  order  that  we  may 
be  of  service  in  helping  him  meet  the  difficult  problems  in 
connection  with  the  work. 

To  assist  him  to  establish  these  industrial  standards  and 
make  them  obligatory  upon  these  employers  accepting 
Government  Contracts  whether  through  the  Department 
of  Labor  or  through  the  Department  of  War,  the  Com- 
mittee recommends  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolu- 
tion: 

(Resolution  No.  32,  introduced  by  the  Chicago  Delega- 
tion : ) 

Federal  Inspection 

Whereas,  We  know  that  our  Government  wishes  to  give 
its  war  contracts  to  those  employers  maintaining  the  highest 
industrial  standards,  and 

Whereas,  As  workers  we  find  that  some  of  these  con- 
tracts have  been  given  to  known  exploiters  of  women  and 
children,  and 

Whereas,  The  Department  of  Labor  at  Washington  has 
no  power  to  make  inspections  of  industrial  plants,  and  the 
Government  therefore  is  in  no  position  to  control  such  em- 
ployers, although  a  corresponding  power  of  control  is  vested 
in  the  Children's  Bureau,  and  the  Public  Health  Service, 
therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  delegates  to  the  National  Women's 
Trade  Union  League  in  Sixth  Biennial  Convention  as- 
sembled, ask  Congress  to  enact  such  legislation  as  will  give 
full  power  to  the  Department  of  Labor  to  make  inspection 
of  all  industrial  plants  handling  Government  Contracts, 
and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  because  of  the  great  increase  of  women 
122 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

workers,  women  as  well  as  men  inspectors  be  employed. 
While  the  committee  heartily  endorses  Resolution  No.  14 
introduced  by  Delegate  Mary  Anderson  of  Chicago,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Boot  and  Shoe  Workers'  Union,  we  further 
recommend  that  this  suggestion  be  adopted  for  all  Govern- 
ment Contracts  which  affect  those  industries  in  which  trade 
organization  exist. 

Government  Shoe  Contracts  ^ 

Whereas,  The  policy  pursued  by  the  War  Department 
in  letting  orders  for  army  shoes  has  been  and  is  to  place 
such  contracts  with  non-union  shoe  manufacturers  whose 
employees  do  not  receive  sufficient  compensation  for  their 
labor,  and 

Whereas,  The  United  States  Government  has  inaugu- 
rated a  policy  in  the  placing  of  army  shoe  contracts  to 
which  we  must  enter  an  emphatic  protest  and  which  is  in 
contrast  to  the  Allied  Governments  who  have  placed  their 
orders  with  union  firms,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  delegates  to  the  Sixth  Biennial 
Convention  of  the  National  Women's  Trade  Union  League, 
respectfully  request  the  Army  and  Navy  Department  to 
place  all  future  Government  orders  with  union  shoe  manu- 
facturers, where  self-government  prevails  in  the  workshop 
which  is  a  necessary  development  of  our  free  institutions 
and  where  the  Government  will  be  guaranteed  no  inter- 
ruption on  this  work  so  that  orders  will  be  promptly 
filled. 

The  committee  further  recommends  the  adoption  of  Reso- 
lution No.  17  introduced  by  the  Resolutions  Committee 
which  is  as  follows: 

1  We  are  informed  by  the  War  Department  that  on  May  29 
(too  late  for  such  information  to  be  made  public  at  the  time 
of  the  passing  of  the  above  resolution)  contracts  for  army 
shoes  were  awarded  to  twenty-one  firms,  eight  of  whom  are 
operating  union  factories. 

123 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Women's  Work  in  War  and  National  Labor 
Standards 

Whereas,  It  has  been  conclusively  proved  that  long 
hours  and  the  breakdown  of  legal  standards  for  the  pro- 
tection of  working  women  and  children  mean  a  breakdown 
in  health  and  an  increase  in  industrial  accidents,  and 

Whereas,  There  is  danger  that  in  the  present  excitement 
the  public  may  lose  sight  of  the  importance  of  maintaining 
the  educational  and  labor  standards  which  have  slowly 
grown  up  in  these  states  and  which  are  an  essential  bul- 
wark of  democracy,  and 

Whereas,  England's  experience  under  like  circumstances 
has  proved  on  the  one  hand  that  increasing  the  hours  of 
labor  actually  lessens  the  output,  and,  on  the  other,  that 
the  crippling  of  the  schools  was  accompanied  by  an  increase 
of  thirty-four  per  cent,  in  child  delinquency,  while  the  small 
money  saving  made  in  this  way  in  two  years  was  only 
enough  to  support  the  armies  for  fifteen  houp^,  there- 
fore, be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  National  Women's  Trade  Union 
League  in  convention  assembled  protest  emphatically 
against  any  attempt  to  lower  educational  standards  or  to 
weaken  the  laws  safeguarding  the  workers,  especially 
women  and  children,  and  that  we  do  all  within  our  power 
to  maintain  and  help  establish  as  well  as  guard  every  other 
law  enacted  for  the  protection  of  women  and  children  in  in- 
dustry; that  we  secure  equal  pay  for  equal  work  where 
women  are  forced  into  the  positions  left  vacant  by  men,  and 
be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  while  there  is  no  law  protecting  mothers 
with  young  children  from  entering  industry  that  we  make 
every  possible  effort  to  prevent  mothers  with  young  chil- 
dren from  being  called  into  industry  except  as  a  last  resort. 

The  Committee  further  recommends  the  adoption  of  Reso- 
lution No.  18  introduced  by  the   Resolutions   Committee 

124 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

urging  international  standards  in  industry,  which  is  aa 
follows : 

Whereas,  The  right  to  live  tlirough  work  is  not  to  be 
denied;  and 

Whereas,  The  efforts  of  individual  nations  to  raise  the 
standard  of  life  for  their  own  workers  are  perpetually 
hindered  through  the  international  trade  competition  of 
countries  with  lower  standards,  it  has  now  become  neces- 
sary to  meet  this  situation  through  international  agreement ; 
and 

Whereas,  During  the  war  the  working  class  has  in  every 
nation  contributed  its  all;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  delegates  to  the  Sixth  Biennial 
Convention  of  the  National  Women's  Trade  Union  League 
urge  that  there  be  included  in  the  treaty  of  peace  to  be 
signed  at  the  conclusion  of  war,  labor  clauses,  to  take  effect 
within  a  definite  time,  prescribing  standards  covering  con- 
ditions of  work,  the  hours  of  work,  and  the  wages  paid, 
so  that  the  workers  may  be  insured  such  elementary  rights 
as  the  eight-hour  day,  one  day  rest  in  seven,  no  child  labor, 
the  abolition  of  night  work  for  women,  a  living  wage  in 
proportion  to  the  cost  of  living  in  each  country,  and  equal 
pay  for  equal  work. 

The  Committee  recommends  to  the  National  Women's 
Trade  Union  League  in  order  to  meet  effectively  the  prob- 
lems that  will  arise  that  the  National  Executive  Board 
work  in  conjunction  with  our  members  on  the  various 
Committees  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  and  other 
authorized  bodies  to  obtain  the  best  results  possible  for  the 
women  workers  in  the  country. 

We  recommend  that  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  call 
upon  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Secretary  of  War, 
Secretary  of  Labor,  and  the  appropriate  committees  of  the 
Council  for  National  Defense  and  lay  before  them  the 
recommendations  here  outlined. 

Finally,  the  Committee  appeals  to  all  working  women  to 
125 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WOELD  WAR 

maintain  their  hard-won  standards  of  hours,  wages  and 
conditions  through  these  times  that  try  men's  souls  and  that 
in  the  words  of  the  president  of  the  National  Women's 
Trade  Union  League,  "Let  us  never  forget  that  organiza- 
tion is  the  heart  of  it  all.  In  ordinary  times  industrial 
freedom  is  the  most  important  freedom,  as  industrial  democ- 
racy is  the  most  important  democracy  in  an  industrial  age. 
Now  that  democracy  is  declared  on  all  sides  to  be  worth 
dying  for,  surely  it  is  worth  living  by.  Industrial  freedom 
requires  the  trade-agreement  workshop,  and  the  trade- 
agreement  workshop  requires  the  organization  of  the  work- 
ers. Just  as  the  individual  nation  cannot  alone  protect  its 
liberty  and  life  in  tliis  world  war,  so  the  individual  worker 
cannot  alone  protect  her  liberty  and  life  in  the  industrial 
struggle. 

This  report  was  signed  by  the  Committee  on 
Woman's  Work  in  War  Time,  which  consists  of  the 
following : 

Mary  Dreier,  New  York,  Chairman ;  Agnes  Nestor, 
First  Vice-President,  International  Glove  Workers' 
Union  of  America,  Chicago;  Mary  Anderson,  Inter- 
national Executive  Board  Member  of  the  Boot  and 
Shoe  Workers'  Union,  Chicago;  Melinda  Scott,  Vice- 
President,  United  Hat  Trimmers  of  New  York ;  Emma 
Steghagen,  Boot  and  Shoe  Workers'  Union,  Chicago; 
Elisabeth  Christman,  See'y-Treas.,  International 
Glove  Workers'  Union  of  America,  Chicago;  Eliza- 
beth Maloney,  Fourth  Vice-President,  Hotel  and  Res- 
taurant Employees'  International  Alliance,  Chicago; 
Olive  Sullivan,  Office  Employees'  Association,  Chi- 
cago ;  Rose  Schneidermann,  Cloth  Hat  and  Cap  Mak- 
ers' Union,  New  York;  Hilda  Svenson,  Bookkeepers, 
Stenographers   and   Accountants'   Association,   New 

126 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

York;  Nellie  Litligow,  Hosiery  Workers'  Union  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.;  Julia  O'Connor,  Telephone  Operators' 
Union,  Boston,  Mass. ;  Katherine  Lindsay,  Office  Em- 
ployees' Association,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Alice  Scott, 
Hat  Trimmers'  Union  of  Newark,  N.  J.;  Angelina 
Berte,  United  Garment  Workers'  Union,  St.  Louis, 
Mo.;  Clare  Armstrong,  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association,  Topeka,  Kan. ;  Louisa  Mittelstadt,  Beer 
Bottlers'  Union,  Kansas  City,  Mo.;  Khoda  McCulloch, 
National  Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  New 
York;  Mabel  Gillespie,  Stenographers'  Union,  Bos- 
ton ;  Emma  Pischel,  Meat,  Food  and  Sanitary  Science 
Inspector,  Chicago;  Dora  Lipschitz,  Waist,  Silk  Suit 
and  Dressmakers '  Union,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  IMary 
Haney,  United  Garment  Workers'  Union,  Chicago; 
Fannia  Cohn,  Vice-President  of  the  National  Ladies' 
Garment  Workers'  Union,  New  York;  Mrs.  W^alter 
McNabb  JMiller,  National  American  Woman  Suffrage 
Association,  New  York;  Mme.  Geubel  de  la  Ruelle, 
Department  of  Labor,  Paris,  France, 

This  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the 
Delegates  to  the  Sixth  Biennial  Convention  of  the 
National  Women's  Trade  Union  League  of  America, 
June  4-9,  1917. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Convention  which  adopted 
this  report  a  special  committee  went  to  Washington 
and  presented  it  in  person  to  President  Wilson,  the 
Secretary  of  War  and  the  Secretary  of  Labor,  after 
which  Secretary  Baker  wrote  to  Miss  Mary  Dreier, 
New  York,  chairman  of  the  Committee,  as  fol- 
lows: 

May  I  thank  you  for  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Women's  Work  in  War  Time,  and  express  to  the  League 

127 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

through  you  my  hearty  sympathy  with  its  spirit  and  inten- 
tion. You  can  rest  assured  that  no  attack  upon  our  hard- 
won  industrial  standards  will  receive  any  comfort  from  me. 
Experience  during  the  war  has  demonstrated  beyond  possi- 
bility of  argument  that  you  cannot  cheat  nature,  and  that 
those  who  have  been  insisting  so  many  years  upon  the  main- 
tenance of  a  national  minimum  are  more  than  vindicated. 
As  Secretary  of  War  I  am  more  than  ever  concerned,  for 
on  the  protection  of  basic  standards  of  life  our  nation 
power  ultimately  depends. 

Mrs.  Raymond  Robins,  president  of  the  National 
Women's  Trade  Union  League  of  America,  said: 
*^  Trade  and  technical  training  of  v^omen  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  at  this  time.  England  recognized 
this  by  providing  such  training  to  her  women  after 
the  first  months  of  the  vrar.  We  must  demand  that 
in  the  new  development  of  public  school  education 
girls  be  given  the  same  chance  as  their  brothers  for 
training  in  knowledge  and  mastery  of  their  respective 
trades.  It  has  been  the  object  of  the  National 
Women's  Trade  Union  League  to  work  out  plans  for 
a  program  that  comprehends  the  scope  and  purpose 
of  industrial  democracy. 

**  America  calls  for  that  training  which  will  give  to 
her  working  women  not  only  the  capacity  to  adapt 
themselves  to  the  changes  that  are  going  on  around 
us,  but  to  the  power  to  shape  and  direct  them. 

*  *  To  prepare  such  leadership  for  working  women  in 
America,  the  National  Women 's  Trade  Union  League, 
in  the  face  of  what  seemed  insuperable  difficulties, 
four  years  ago  undertook  the  establishment  of  a  train- 
ing school  for  active  workers  in  the  labor  movement. 
Already  this  school  has  justified  our  work  and  faith 

128 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

and  the  generous  support  of  far-sighted  women,  who 
made  its  foundation  possible.  Literally  millions  of 
women  are  looking  to  our  organization  for  help  and 
leadership  in  the  struggle  for  self-government  in  their 
daily  toil.  America  at  war  opens  a  new  field  for  its 
cooperation. 

'*We  are  endeavoring  to  unite  in  maintaining  and 
extending  our  hard  won  standards  in  industry,  and 
are  alert  to  resist  the  efforts  of  ignorance  and  greed 
to  capitalize  a  national  emergency  into  dollars  coined 
from  the  exploited  labors  of  the  poor.  This  war  has 
proved  that  child  labor,  the  twelve-hour  day  and 
seven-day  week  are  economic  waste  and  national  be- 
trayal. Exploitation  of  labor  is  treason  to  the  state. 
We  women  of  the  Trade  Union  League  are  demand- 
ing a  real  economic  preparedness.  In  my  opinion  an 
eight-hour  day,  a  living  wage,  one  day's  rest  in  seven, 
and  adult  labor,  should  be  a  condition  in  every  con- 
tract made  for  Government  supplies. 

** Under  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of 
National  Defense,  there  are  being  organized  in  every 
state  committees  for  the  protection  of  women  and 
children  in  industry.  Here  practical  knowledge  of 
industrial  life  and  trained  service  for  dealing  with 
industrial  conditions  is  of  highest  importance  for 
the  national  welfare. 

**Not  only  are  unorganized  woman  workers  in  vast 
numbers  used  as  underbidders  in  the  labor  market 
for  lowering  industrial  standards,  but  they  are  re- 
lated to  those  groups  in  the  industrial  centers  of  our 
country  that  are  least  Americanized  and  most  alien 
to  our  institutions  and  ideals.  These  groups  cannot 
be  led  from  the  outside.     From  within  the  fellowship 

129 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

of  their  daily  life  and  labor  must  their  salvation 
come." 

Mrs.  Robins'  interest  in  the  American  women  in 
industry  began  many  years  ago  when,  as  a  trained 
nurse  in  New  York,  her  observations  of  conditions 
under  which  women  labored  led  her  to  endeavor  to 
procure  more  favorable  legislation  upon  the  subject. 
She  was  early  convinced  that  working  women  must 
have  the  aid  of  organization  through  trade  unions. 
In  order  to  gain  the  fullest  possible  knowledge  of  the 
real  problems  of  women  industrial  workers,  Mrs. 
Robins  and  her  husband  went  in  1905  to  live  on  the 
top  floor  of  a  tenement  house  in  Chicago.  In  this 
section  of  West  Olive  Street  where  she  lives,  there 
are  twenty-three  nationalities  in  a  population  of  70,- 
000  people  living  within  a  square  mile. 

In  England  the  problem  not  only  of  maintaining 
standards  already  achieved,  but  of  elevating  and  im- 
proving the  conditions  of  women  workers  during  the 
war,  was  met  by  the  influence  of  men's  trade  unions. 
In  this  country  also  the  protection  of  the  standards 
of  labor  will  depend  upon  the  effectiveness  of  the 
labor  union;  but  in  this  country  the  women's  trade 
unions  will  play  as  conspicuous  a  part  as  the  men's 
unions.  The  National  Women's  Trade  Union  League 
of  America  was  organized  in  1903,  with  a  view  to 
uniting  the  women  workers  of  the  country,  whether 
or  not  they  are  already  in  unions,  and  those  women 
outside  the  ranks  of  labor  who  sympathize  with  the 
labor  movement.  The  League  has  state  branches  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  and  constantly  seeks  to 
improve  the  conditions  of  working  women. 

Although  closely  affiliated  with  the  American  Fed- 
130 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

eration  of  Labor,  the  League  is  an  independent  as- 
sociation. Its  platform  urges  the  organization  of  all 
workers  into  trade  unions,  equal  pay  for  equal  work, 
the  eight-hour  day,  the  minimum  wage  scale,  full 
citizenship  for  women,  and  all  the  principles  embodied 
in  the  economic  program  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor. 

The  Women's  International  Union  Labor  League 
was  organized  in  1899  for  the  purpose  of  improving 
labor  conditions,  and  has  concentrated  its  efforts  al- 
most entirely  on  encouraging  the  use  of  goods  -bear- 
ing the  union  label.  The  direct  influence  of  this  or- 
ganization on  the  maintenance  of  high  industrial 
standards  during  the  war  may  not  be  especially  sig- 
nificant, but  the  encouragement  it  has  already  given 
to  women  to  join  the  various  trades  unions  cannot 
fail  to  have  a  favorable  effect. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  American  woman  interested 
in  the  maintenance  of  standards  for  women  in  in- 
dustry to  uphold  the  principles  set  forth  by  such 
organizations,  for  it  is  largely  through  their  efforts 
that  industrial  legislation  has  been  secured  in  the 
United  States,  that  wages  have  risen,  that  hours  of 
labor  have  decreased,  and  that  general  conditions 
have  improved  within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 
It  should  be  a  matter  of  pride  to  American  women 
everywhere  that  these  groups  of  women  have  been 
shouldering  their  industrial  burdens  with  a  growing 
intelligence  and  effectiveness.  The  war  will  be  a 
strenuous  test  of  the  strength  of  their  unions. 

In  no  instance  has  the  Government  failed  to  recog- 
nize the  importance  of  the  problems  concerning 
women  in  industry.     The   Committee  on  Labor,  of 

131 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

which  Mr.  Samuel  Gompers  is  chairman,  forms  one 
of  the  seven  divisions  of  the  work  of  the  Advisory 
Commission  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense. 
Through  this  Committee  every  effort  is  being  made  to 
avoid  the  unfortunate  industrial  experiences  of  Eng- 
land in  the  first  months  of  war.  The  chairman  and 
many  workers  on  the  sub-committees  are  giving  their 
time  and  abilities  freely  as  a  patriotic  service  to  the 
Government.  The  Committee  on  Labor,  including  its 
national  committees  and  sub-committees,  has  a  mem- 
bership of  about  five  hundred.  There  are  eight  na- 
tional committees  and  chairmen,  one  of  which  is  the 
Committee  on  Women  in  Industry,  of  which  Mrs. 
Borden  Harriman  of  Washington,  D.  C,  is  chair- 
man. The  executive  committ-ee  consists  of:  Mrs. 
Borden  Harriman,  chairman;  Miss  Pauline  Gold- 
mark,  secretary;  Mrs.  George  Vanderbilt,  treasurer; 
Miss  Grace  Abbott,  Miss  Mary  Anderson,  Mrs. 
Frances  C.  Axtell,  Miss  Sophonisba  P.  Breckinridge, 
Mrs.  Sara  A.  Conboy,  Mrs.  V.  Everit  Macy,  Miss 
Mary  B.  McDowell,  Miss  Melinda  Scott,  Miss  Florence 
Thome,  Miss  Mary  Van  Kleeck. 

There  are  sub-committees  as  follows:  Location  of 
Workers  and  Conditions  of  Labor;  General  Living 
Conditions  of  Transported  Workers  and  Local  Trans- 
portation Facilities;  Industrial  Standards  (a)  hours 
of  labor,  (b)  weekly  day  of  rest,  (c)  night  work,  (d) 
rest  periods,  (e)  protection  from  overfatigue  and  in- 
dustrial diseases,  (f)  sanitation,  (g)  wages,  (h)  pro- 
hibition of  tenement  house  trades;  Women  doing 
Work  customarily  done  by  Men,  (a)  suitability  of  the 
work,  (b)  wages;  Alien  Women  in  Industry;  Colored 
Women. 

132 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

The  function  of  this  committee  is  to  concern  itself 
with  the  standards,  hours,  wages  and  conditions  of 
women  in  industry.  State  committees  of  this  com- 
mittee have  been  organized  in  twenty-four  states. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Committee  on  Women 
in  Industry  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted: 

I.    Standard 

Resolved,  That  we  reiterate  the  statement  of  the  labor 
committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  that  in  the 
interest  of  health,  output,  and  peace  in  industry  there 
should  be  no  movement  to  relax  existing  labor  standards, 
especially  in  regard  to  hours  of  labor  and  weekly  day  of 
rest. 

II.    Married  Women  with  Young  Children 

Resolved,  That  we  view  with  alarm  the  increase  of  em- 
ployment of  married  women  with  young  children,  and  be- 
lieve that  ejfforts  should  be  made  to  stem  this  movement  as 
far  as  practicable,  especially  as  regards  night  work,  and 
that  these  women  should  be  the  last  to  enter  into  industry. 

III.    Not  Taking  Place  of  Wage  Earners 

Since  women  in  their  generous  impulse  to  render  service 
are  offering  to  enter  industry,  therefore  be  it — 

Resolved,  That  their  attention  be  called  to  the  danger  of 
undercutting  existing  wage  standards  and  of  displacing 
workers  dependent  on  their  own  earnings. 

A  United  States  Employment  Service  has  been  es- 
tablished under  the  Department  of  Labor  as  a  war 
emergency  measure.  It  should  be  a  matter  of  pride  to 
American  women  that  one  of  their  number,  Miss  Hilda 
Mulhauzer,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  has  been  made  assist- 
ant director  of  this  important  work.    Miss  Mulhauzer 

133 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

will  concern  herself  especially  with  the  problem  of  em- 
ployment for  women  and  girls.  She  was  chosen  for 
this  responsible  position  because  of  her  wide  experi- 
ence and  remarkable  executive  ability.  Headquarters 
have  been  established  and  officers  placed  in  charge  in 
forty-four  zones  and  there  are  a  number  of  sub- 
branches  in  various  cities  and  towns.  In  eight  of  the 
zones  there  are  (at  this  writing)  divisions  for  women 
and  girls  with  women  acting  superintendents.  These 
are  as  follows :  Newark,  N.  J.,  No.  9  Franklin  Street, 
Margaretta  Neale,  superintendent;  Baltimore,  Md., 
Stewart  building,  Nannie  Irvine,  in  charge ;  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  Department  of  Labor  building,  Grace  Por- 
ter Hopkins,  acting  superintendent;  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  319  Federal  Bldg.,  Morna  Hickam,  in  charge; 
Chicago,  111.,  845  South  Wabash  Avenue,  Estelle  Bar- 
field,  superintendent;  Denver,  Colo.,  355  Federal 
Bldg.,  Katherine  M.  Herring,  clerk  in  charge;  San 
Francisco,  Cal.,  No.  2  Appraisers'  Bldg.,  Virginia  M. 
Spinks,  acting  superintendent ;  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  Post 
Office  Bldg.,  Elizabeth  Blackiston,  in  charge. 

The  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense  has  Women  in  Industry  as  one  of  its 
ten  divisions.  Miss  Agnes  Nestor,  Chicago,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee,  and  president  of  the  Interna- 
tional Glove  Makers'  Union,  is  chairman  for  this 
division.  The  Woman's  Committee  has  held  itself 
in  readiness  always  to  make  its  machinery  available 
in  any  way  suggested  by  Miss  Nestor  to  help  the  coun- 
try and  its  women  in  the  handling  of  this  delicate 
and  difficult  problem. 

Elsewhere  in  this  book  will  be  found  accounts  of 
the  activities  of  the  National  League  for  Woman's 

134 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

Service,  the  Mayor's  Committee  of  the  City  of  New 
York  and  other  war  organizations  of  women,  in  the 
interest  of  the  woman  in  industry  problem. 

As  has  been  stated  elsewhere,  the  National  League 
for  Woman's  Service  has  been  specifically  engaged 
through  a  very  efficient  committee  on  women  in  indus- 
try in  registering  women  of  the  country  who  desire 
employment  under  government  contract.  A  number 
of  women  who  afterwards  organized  the  National 
League  for  Woman's  Service  asked  Miss  Grace 
Parker  of  New  York  to  go  to  England  in  the  fall  of 
1916  and  make  a  survey  of  how  the  resources  of 
women  were  being  used  in  England's  crisis.  Miss 
Parker  spent  two  months  in  England  and  upon  her 
return  made  a  comprehensive  report  of  her  investi- 
gations. Iler  study  was  made  possible  by  the  co- 
operation of  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough:  the  Mar- 
chioness of  Londonderry;  Lady  Jekyll;  Mrs.  Lewis 
Harcourt;  Mrs.  H.  J.  Tenant;  Mrs.  Walter  Runci- 
man;  Miss  Pictor-Turberville ;  Mrs.  Charles  W. 
Furse,  Commandant-in-Chief  V.  A.  D. ;  ]\Iiss  Lillian 
Barker,  Lady  Superintendent  Royal  Arsenal,  Plum- 
stead;  Miss  F.  H.  Durham,  Chief  Woman  Inspector, 
Board  of  Trade,  and  many  other  English  women  who 
through  their  supreme  self-sacrifice  are  helping  to 
meet  England's  great  need  in  this  her  greatest  crisis. 

It  was  after  Miss  Parker's  return  to  America,  and 
a  short  time  before  this  country  became  involved  in 
the  war,  that  the  National  League  for  Woman's 
Service  was  formed.  Immediately  upon  a  declara- 
tion of  a  state  of  war  by  this  country  the  League  an- 
nounced its  war  emergency  program  which  is  being 
carried  out  all  over  the  country  with  such  telling  ef- 

135 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

feet.  Its  particular  work  concerning  woman  in  in- 
dustry was  done  in  cooperation  with  the  United  States 
Department  of  Labor,  the  officials  of  which  have  pub- 
licly expressed  their  appreciation  of  the  work  that  has 
been  accomplished  by  the  League, 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  RED  CROSS 

Woman's  Bureau  of  the  Red  Cross — Its  purposes  and 
plans — A  general  survey — Supply  service  and  Bureau 
of  Standards — Knitting,  hospital  garments,  surgical 
dressings,  comfort  kits,  etc. — Home  service — Volunteer 
aids — Work  organized  and  canteens  established  in 
France — Junior  Red  Cross — School  fund — Red  Cross 
school  activities — How  to  organize. 

It  would  not  be  possible  to  tell,  even  were  the  space 
available,  anything  approaching  a  complete  story  of 
the  work  of  women  for  the  Red  Cross.  There  is  prob- 
ably no  community  in  America  in  which  some  women 
are  not  expressing  their  patriotism  by  working  for 
the  Red  Cross.  The  most  that  can  be  attempted  here 
is  a  story  of  the  formation  and  aims  of  the  Woman's 
Bureau  and  a  general  outline  of  some  of  the  more 
important  phases  of  the  work  in  which  women  are 
most  vitally  interested. 

The  nursing  profession  has  assumed  and  carried 
out  a  noble  program  of  war  work,  but  the  great  bulk 
of  the  women  of  the  country  are  without  professional 
training  of  any  sort;  and  it  was  primarily  to  direct 
the  energy  and  eagerness  to  serve  of  the  millions  of 
wives,  sisters  and  mothers  of  the  Army  and  Navy 
that  the  Woman's  Bureau  of  the  Red  Cross  was  cre- 
ated in  July,  1917. 

Miss  Florence  Marshall,  formerly  the  Director  of 
137 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  Manhattan  Trade  School,  the  largest  technical 
school  for  girls  in  America,  and  a  member  of  the 
Commission  on  Federal  Aid  to  Vocational  Education, 
was  made  its  director.  War  work  of  various  sorts, 
the  making  of  surgical  dressings,  knitting  garments, 
hospital  garments,  and  in  certain  parts  of  the  coun- 
try refugee  clothing,  was  being  carried  on  by  the  Red 
Cross  chapters  and  other  organizations,  some  of  them 
indeed  having  been  at  work  since  1914.  But  with 
the  new  calls  for  our  own  men,  the  demand  for  sup- 
plies leaped  hundredfold,  and  it  was  apparent  that 
the  passionate  desire  of  women  to  be  of  service  would 
result  in  a  wasteful  chaos  if  some  general  scheme  were 
not  laid  out,  and  if,  at  all  times,  the  women  of  the 
country  did  not  aim  to  meet  the  specific  demands  of 
the  French  hospitals  and  the  French  relief  organiza- 
tions. 

Almost  the  first  thing  that  Miss  Marshall  under- 
took was  to  send  to  France  and  England  two  Red 
Cross  agents,  to  make  a  careful  study  of  the  demands 
of  the  doctors  on  the  spot,  and  to  consult  with  au- 
thorities on  French  relief.  Miss  Elizabeth  Hoyt  and 
Miss  Martha  Draper  of  New  York  sailed  in  August, 
1917,  and  returned  with  a  report  which  is  an  incentive 
and  an  inspiration. 

The  immediate  problems  at  home  were  those  of  or- 
ganization and  the  manufacture  of  supplies  known  to 
be  wanted  in  great  quantities.  The  chapter  and  the 
chapter  workroom  were  to  be  the  units  of  organiza- 
tion. There,  questions  were  to  be  answered  and  ma- 
terials given  to  the  individual  women,  inspection  of 
work  passed,  and  gifts  received. 

As  the  scheme  for  the  centralization  of  adminis- 
138 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

tration  in  the  Red  Cross  as  a  whole  developed,  the 
Woman's  Bureau,  too,  divided  its  work  into  thirteen 
administrative  fields,  in  America,  and  a  fourteenth 
covering  the  American  Red  Cross  Chapters  in  China, 
South  America,  Alaska  and  Persia.  A  divisional  di- 
rector of  women's  work  was  appointed  for  each.  The 
business  of  Miss  Marshall 's  Bureau  at  National  Head- 
quarters became  therefore  the  center  where  broad 
questions  of  policy  were  decided,  the  clearing  house 
for  information  from  abroad  as  to  what  was  needed, 
and  the  instrument  of  standardization. 

Not  that  National  Headquarters  felt  called  upon  to 
establish  certain  rigid  standards  of  work  with  the 
idea  of  rejecting  everything  that  did  not  come  up  to 
the  last  seam  and  the  last  button-hole.  For  instance 
in  the  case  of  the  knitting.  The  Woman's  Bureau 
was  able  to  consult  with  the  authorities  from  the 
British,  Canadian  and  French  Red  Cross,  with  knit- 
ting experts  from  the  commercial  mills  and  the 
women's  magazines.  It  had  been  advised  by  cable 
from  Major  Murphy,  head  of  the  Red  Cross  Commis- 
sion in  France,  that  there  would  be  imperative  need 
for  outfits  of  knitted  garments,  sweaters,  socks,  muf- 
flers and  wristlets,  for  all  men  in  the  trenches,  before 
Christmas.  French  winters  are  never  mild  and  the 
fuel  shortage  was  already  expected. 

The  supply  service  of  the  Red  Cross  and  the  Bu- 
reau of  Standards  reached  a  decision  that  the  best 
wool  for  the  purpose  and  the  money,  in  gray  and 
khaki,  was  four-ply  No.  lO's  construction.  The  first 
piece  of  work  of  the  Woman's  Bureau  was  to  issue 
half  a  million  circulars  with  very  simple  directions 
for  knitting  the  set  of  four,  a  bed  sock,  an  aviator's 

139 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

helmet,  hot  water  bottle  cover  and  wash  rag.  The 
Bureau  had  designated  what  things  were  most  needed 
in  France,  and  the  simplest  way  to  make  them,  and 
where  to  obtain  yarn.  It  is  quite  possible  that  muf- 
flers just  as  good  might  be  an  inch  longer  or  an  inch 
shorter,  purled  in  stripes  or  not.  The  Red  Cross 
never  declines  to  receive  work  that  doesn't  follow 
precisely  the  instructions,  but  the  standardized  in- 
structions have  been  designated,  and  the  only  way 
for  the  average  woman  to  be  sure  that  she  has  come 
as  near  as  possible  to  giving  what  is  wanted,  is  to 
follow  those  instructions. 

Next,  Miss  Marshall,  dealing  always  with  the  latest 
news  from  France,  established  standards  for  hospital 
garments,  pajamas,  bath  robes,  hospital  bed  shirts, 
surgeons'  and  nurses'  operating  gowns  and  masks, 
bed  socks,  undershirts,  underdrawers,  hot  water  and 
ice  bag  covers.  Suggestions  were  made  as  to  the  kind 
of  warm  materials  needed  in  the  convalescent  robes, 
and  arrangements  made  with  the  various  big  pattern 
companies,  eight  in  all,  to  cut  patterns  for  the  author- 
ized Red  Cross  garments  for  hospital  use;  these  pat- 
terns are  placed  on  sale  at  the  usual  retail  channels, 
and  at  the  Red  Cross  Chapter  rooms. 

In  most  of  the  divisions,  the  Supply  Service  work- 
ing with  the  Woman's  Bureau  has  put  in  cutting  ma- 
chines and  made  master  patterns  so  that  twenty  gar- 
ments can  be  cut  at  once,  and  perfectly.  Chapters 
can  then  purchase  the  material  for  garments  already 
cut.  Cutting  machines  are  also  used  in  preparing  the 
gauze  for  the  surgical  dressings  work. 

The  Surgical  dressings  work  has  been  a  tremendous 
task  in  itself.    Under  Dr.  Hartwell  of  New  York, 

140 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

twenty-three  standard  dressings  were  passed  on  and 
the  Woman's  Bureau  was  able  to  issue  two  circulars, 
one  describing  each  dressing  in  detail,  with  diagram, 
and  one  for  instructors.  The  problem  of  organizing 
those  competent  to  give  instruction  in  the  making  of 
surgical  dressings,  and  using  laywomen  wherever  pos- 
sible in  order  not  to  draw  too  heavily  on  the  nursing 
profession;  the  process  of  selecting  from  those  who 
were  competent  teachers  and  workmen,  those  who 
could  best  be  used  to  instruct  other  instructors  for 
the  rapidly  increasing  number  of  Red  Cross  Chap- 
ters, and  those  who  could  best  be  used  in  the  chapter 
workrooms  to  bend  their  every  energy  on  increase  of 
output — these  things  have  been  one  phase  of  the 
surgical  dressings  work. 

As  a  problem  in  manufacture,  the  world  has  never 
seen  the  like  of  what  the  laywomen  of  America  have 
put  their  shoulders  to.  Home  work  and  shop  work 
in  thousands  of  chapters  and  auxiliaries  have  been 
undertaken.  The  work  is  being  constantly  inter- 
rupted by  new  workers  who  do  not  know  what  it  is  all 
about — women  who  want  to  knit  and  have  to  be 
taught  to  knit,  women  who  want  to  sew  and  have  to 
be  taught  to  sew.  There  have  been  problems  in  pack- 
ing and  inspection,  problems  in  personal  relations, 
problems  in  sheer  education  as  to  why  Headquarters 
should  be  trusted  to  have  put  in  the  surgical  dress- 
ings manual,  for  instance,  those  dressings  which  mili- 
tary hospitals  most  wanted.  Every  letter  that  some 
woman  in  Kentucky  or  New  York  received  from 
France  saying  that  Doctor  X  or  Y  or  Z  used  such 
and  such  a  bandage,  opened  up  fresh  controversy  as 
to  what  should  be  made.     The  average  business  man, 

141 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

set  to  sink  or  swim,  with  the  job  of  delivering  hos- 
pital supplies  to  thousands  of  hospitals,  and  depend- 
ent on  volunteer  labor  working  part  time,  would 
have  many  times  preferred  to  sink.  But  the  women 
of  the  American  Red  Cross,  from  Miss  Mabel  Board- 
man,  the  veteran  woman  worker  on  the  advisory  board 
of  the  Woman's  Bureau,  down  to  the  little  chairman 
of  a  chapter  that  had  only  three  members  somewhere 
in  Nevada,  took  up  the  burden  with  an  energy  and 
an  eagerness  that  will  never  be  known  until  the  end 
of  the  war.  Millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  volunteer 
labor  will  be  shown  in  the  story  then. 

Figures  available  now  cannot  hope  to  give  the  pic- 
ture. But  a  memorandum  of  six  weeks'  shippings  in 
the  fall  of  1917  showed  that  women  furnished  3,681,- 
895  surgical  dressings;  1,517,076  pieces  of  hospital 
linen;  424,550  articles  of  patients'  clothing;  301,563 
articles  of  miscellaneous  supplies;  240,621  knitted 
articles.  And  each  six  weeks  brings  in  more  workers 
than  the  last,  better  trained,  every  day  learning  more 
competent  and  less  wasteful  methods,  and  gradually 
increasing  output. 

Further,  the  women  of  the  Red  Cross  chapters  un- 
dertook to  make  a  comfort  kit  for  every  soldier  in 
France  and  for  as  many  of  those  in  the  cantonments 
as  possible.  The  comfort  kits,  which  General  Persh- 
ing found  so  useful  to  his  men  when  they  were  on  the 
border,  are  bags  made  in  three  styles  with  pockets, 
containing  various  sorts  of  comforts,  buttons  and  sew- 
ing outfits,  games,  soap,  socks,  and  the  like.  There 
were  hospital  bags  made  so  that  the  hospital  patient 
had  some  cheery  little  place  to  keep  his  treasures  and 
private  letters. 

142 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

These  things  seem  simple.  But  made  in  the  num- 
bers which  are  needed,  the  task  has  been  enormous. 
The  women,  too,  undertook  to  prepare  for  every  sol- 
dier in  the  Army  and  Navy  a  Red  Cross  Christmas 
package,  to  buy  and  wrap  and  pack  sweets  and  to- 
bacco and  extra  holiday  comforts,  that  no  man  should 
be  without  some  tangible  sign  that  his  comfort  and 
safety  and  Christmas  cheer  were  dear  to  the  women 
of  his  country. 

Other  Red  Cross  tasks  have  been  of  infinite  variety. 
Many  women  social  workers  have  been  among  those 
to  organize  the  Home  Service  Institutes  under  the 
Department  of  Civilian  Relief,  where  six  weeks* 
courses  will  be  given,  to  train  women  who  are  the 
Red  Cross  good  neighbors  in  the  best  ways  of  helping 
the  wives  and  children  of  soldiers  on  service  to  keep 
the  family  unit  together,  and  in  good  health. 

The  Volunteer  Aides  have  in  many  places  formed 
motor  corps.  Women  everywhere  have  put  their  au- 
tomobiles at  the  service  of  the  chapters  for  errands, 
to  convey  organizers  into  the  country  districts  to 
teach,  to  move  bundles  and  to  serve  local  military 
hospitals  as  ambulances.  Refreshment  corps  have  es- 
tablished canteens  in  some  of  the  cities  along  the  gen- 
eral lines  of  transportation,  so  that  soldiers  en  route 
to  the  camps,  cantonments,  and  to  transports  should 
have  hot  drinks  and  sandwiches,  and  a  chance  to  mail 
letters  as  they  passed  through.  Women  in  Washing- 
ton, for  instance,  have  been  on  service  from  six  in 
the  morning  until  late  at  night,  with  their  soup 
kitchen,  steaming  with  broth  or  coffee.  No  train  has 
ever  come  too  early  or  been  too  late  to  find  them  on 
duty.    Women  have  volunteered  for  clerical  work, 

143 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

for  library  work;  they  have  operated  model  jam 
kitchens,  under  supervision,  and  made  thousands  of 
little  individual  jelly  treats  for  use  in  hospital  wards 
abroad. 

To  promote  the  close  cooperation  of  American 
women  in  England  and  France,  the  American  Eed 
Cross  formed  the  Woman's  War  Relief  Corps  in 
France.  Major  Grayson  M.  P.  Murphy,  Director  of 
the  Red  Cross  Commission  to  France,  authorized  the 
new  organization,  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  William 
P.  Sharp,  wife  of  the  American  Ambassador,  in  order 
to  mobilize  the  useful  American  women  already  in 
France,  or  who  might  come  hereafter.  The  new  or- 
ganization closely  coordinates  the  work  of  the  women 
of  the  American  Colony  in  London,  under  Mrs. 
Whitelaw  Reid,  and  the  various  American  women's 
enterprises  in  Paris.  The  War  Relief  Corps  will  keep 
closely  in  touch  with  Miss  Florence  M.  ]\Iarshall,  Di- 
rector of  the  Woman's  Bureau  of  the  Red  Cross, 
with  Headquarters  in  Washington,  and  with  her  rep- 
resentatives abroad. 

The  work  of  the  new  organization  is  divided  into 
fourteen  corps  divisions.  It  is  managed  by  an  execu- 
tive board:  ]\Irs.  Robert  Woods  Bliss,  chairman; 
Mrs.  Ralph  Preston,  Mrs.  Edward  Tuck,  Mrs.  George 
Ford,  Mrs.  Charles  Scott ;  Madame  Waddington.  The 
corps  division  heads  are  as  follows.  Blind,  Canteens, 
Diet  Kitchens,  Equipment,  General  Information  and 
Reclamation  Bureau;  Hospital  Auxiliary  Service, 
Nurses  (Auxiliary)  ;  Nurses  (Trained)  ;  Propaganda 
and  Records;  Refugees  (Adults,  Children)  ;  Registra- 
tion; Social  Service;  Surgical  Dressings;  Workrooms 
and  Ouvroirs. 

144 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

The  funds  of  the  new  organization  come  from  three 
sources;  donations  received,  but  not  solicited  by  the 
Woman's  War  Relief  Corps;  registration  dues;  and  ' 
Red  Cross  moneys  granted  on  the  approval  of  budgets 
submitted  to  the  Red  Cross  Commission  in  France. 
Among  its  activities  the  organization  has  a  housing 
committee  which  makes  a  survey  of  desirable  ac- 
commodations in  French  pensions,  as  well  as  hotels 
at  suitable  rates  for  wage  earners.  All  American 
women  workers  coming  from  home  will  be  met  at 
Bordeaux,  and  their  transportation  to  Paris  facili- 
tated. 

Extending  the  work  already  begun  by  the  French 
Red  Cross,  the  American  Red  Cross  is  establishing 
a  long  line  of  canteens  near  the  firing  line  and  at  the 
great  railroad  transfers  for  the  soldiers  coming  home 
from  the  trenches  on  their  short  leave,  and  returning 
to  them  again.  It  will  not  be  long  until  there  will 
be  one  of  these  canteens  for  every  corps  of  the  Army, 
and  later  for  the  American  Army. 

When  the  first  of  those  established  by  our  own  Red 
Cross  was  opened,  among  the  two  thousand  and  more 
who  passed  through  that  day  were  a  large  number  of 
our  American  engineers,  and  later  a  troop  of  Chasseurs 
who  had  been  instructing  our  own  troops.  The  inci- 
dent was  like  a  prophecy  of  the  days  when  thousands 
of  our  men  too,  will  be  pouring  through  these  refresh- 
ment stations,  warmed,  cleansed,  well-fed  and  rested. 
Sleeping  quarters,  shower  baths,  disinfecting  rooms 
for  clothes,  good  food  and  games  are  provided. 
Smaller,  portable  canteens  will  send  hot  drinks  in  the 
winter  up  to  the  men  in  the  front  line  trenches. 

Over  a  hundred  American  women  have  sailed  for 
145 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

France  as  volunteer  workers  in  the  canteen  service. 
They  are  prepared  for  long  hours  of  service  and 
dangerous  duty,  as  many  of  the  canteens  are  well 
within  the  range  of  the  guns. 

The  following  message  was  received  from  the  Paris 
Headquarters  of  the  American  Red  Cross  in  France, 
relative  to  the  work  of  the  Red  Cross  canteen  service 
inaugurated  to  look  after  the  comfort  of  the  troops  en 
route  to  and  from  the  front  line  of  trenches : 

At  one  of  our  canteens  last  week  an  old  poilu,  with  a 
very  tragic  face,  came  up  to  the  directrice  of  the  canteen 
and  pulled  out  three  photographs  of  very  fine  boys  which 
he  said  were  his  sons  who  had  enlisted  in  the  same  regiment 
and  who  had  all  been  killed.  A  month  before  he  had  re- 
ceived word  from  the  French  authorities  that  his  wife,  who 
had  been  caught  in  the  invaded  district,  had  been  shot  by 
the  Germans. 

He  was  starting  back  on  his  permission  with  no  family 
to  whom  he  could  go.  The  directrice  suggested  that  he  had 
his  parents  to  visit,  but  he  answered  that  both  his  parents 
were  killed  by  the  Germans  in  1870.  He  said  to  the  direc- 
trice : 

"I  have  had  an  awfully  good  time  here  in  your  canteen. 
You  have  all  been  very  kind  to  me.  I  have  found  plenty  of 
good  food  to  eat,  a  nice  place  to  be  comfortable  and  to 
read,  and  a  place  to  sleep.  I  think  that  I  will  stay  here  for 
a  few  days  before  returning  to  the  front  if  you  do  not 
mind."     And  it  is  there  that  he  will  spend  his  leave. 

These  are  the  men  the  canteens  reach  and  nearly  thirty 
thousand  of  them  a  day. 

This  is  the  work  that  the  Red  Cross  women  are  do- 
ing— a  great  volunteer  effort  of  love  and  patriotism 
— to  care  for  those  brave  men  who  are  battling  with 

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THE  WOMAN^S  COMMITTEE 

this  Goliath  of  vandalism  and  destruction,  to  make 
this  world  free  forever  to  the  mass  of  people  to  whom 
it  belongs. 

No  matter  how  efficient  or  well-trained  our  army 
may  become,  unless  the  country  back  of  it  can  keep 
it  supplied,  it  must  fail;  and  upon  the  women  of 
America  falls  this  heavy  burden.  But  as  we  have 
no  doubts  for  the  success  of  our  fighting  forces, 
neither  have  we  any  doubt  for  the  success  of  the 
work  of  our  women,  who  have  responded  so  wonder- 
fully to  every  request  that  has  been  made  of  them. 

We  must  all  combine  in  uniform  and  conscientious 
effort — no  matter  what  the  personal  sacrifice — for  the 
honor  of  the  American  Red  Cross  and  the  United 
States  Government. 


CHAPTER  Xn 
THE  KED  CROSS  NURSE 

Some  details  of  Red  Cross  work  in  which  women  are 
especially  interested — Fields  of  opportunity  suggested 
by  Woman's  Bureau — Nursing  service — Emergency 
detachments — Town  and  country  nursing — Instructions 
for  knitting,  comfort  kits,  hospital  garments,  etc. — 
Home  Service  Institutes  in  twenty-five  cities. 

The  Woman's  Bureau  of  the  Red  Cross  does  not 
undertake  to  deal  with  the  professional  women  in  the 
nursing  field,  as  this  is  under  the  Bureau  of  Nursing, 
but  it  is  reaching  out  to  the  non-professional  or  lay- 
women  of  the  country,  who,  though  not  specifically 
trained  for  a  particular  line  of  work,  are  capable  of 
rendering  valuable  service  in  time  of  war  when  every 
resource  must  be  utilized. 

The  Woman's  Bureau  suggests  the  following  as 
some  of  the  fields  of  opportunity  open  to  the  lay- 
women  for  effective  service: 

(1)  The  giving  of  a  united  and  unqualified  service  to  the 
Red  Cross.  Every  woman  in  the  country  should  be  an  en- 
rolled Red  Cross  member.  It  is  becoming  increasingly  im- 
portant that  the  great  work  of  war  relief  should  be  con- 
trolled in  such  a  way  as  to  reduce  to  a  minimum  both  the 
waste  of  effort  and  material,  and  the  women  of  the  country 
have  an  opportunity  as  never  before  to  sink  individual  opin- 
ions and  work  shoulder  to  shoulder  to  make  the  war  a  suc- 
cess. 

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THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

(2)  The  production  of  all  kinds  of  supplies,  sucH  as: 

a. — Surgical  Dressings.  The  need  for  these  is  so  great 
that  the  Red  Cross  is  sending  surgical  dressings  workers  to 
Paris,  and  yet  the  Red  Cross  representatives  in  Paris  say 
that  this  would  not  be  necessary  if  the  women  in  America 
only  realized  how  much  more  effectively  they  could  work  in 
this  country,  where  they  are  not  handicapped  by  shortage 
of  food,  coal,  etc. 

b. — Hospital  Garments  and  Other  Hospital  Supplies. 
The  emphasis  here  should  be  placed  on  making  such  articles 
as  are  requested  by  the  Red  Cross  in  order  to  avoid  the 
waste  now  existent  in  making  huge  quantities  of  articles 
which  "somebody  says  are  wanted,"  but  no  one  knows  just 
why  or  where. 

c. — Knitted  Garments  for  soldiers  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  With  the  possibility  of  a  serious  wool  shortage,  it 
is  important  that  it  be  used  only  for  such  garments  as  are 
urgently  needed  and  requested  by  the  Red  Cross. 

d. — Comfort  kits  for  soldiers  in  the  cantonments,  in  the 
hospitals  and  in  the  trenches. 

e. — Christmas  packets  for  the  men  in  the  cantonments,  in 
the  hospitals  and  in  the  trenches. 

(3)  The  cooperation  with  local  Red  Cross  Chapters  for 
such  activities  as: 

a. — Assisting  in  all  forms  of  civilian  relief. 

b. — Assisting  at  local  canteens. 

c. — Providing  comforts  for  sick  and  convalescent  soldiers. 

d. — Dispensing  cheer  and  comfort  to  soldiers'  depend- 
ents. 

e. — Tendering  for  use  in  chapter  activities  use  of  automo- 
biles, either  with  personal  service  or  hired  chauffeurs. 

(4)  The  volunteering  of  service  at  own  expense  for  serv- 
ice in  the  war  zone  for  various  forms  of  work  to  be  done 
under  orders.  Demand  is  made  from  time  to  time  for  a 
limited  number  for  foreign  service  to  assist  in  certain  spec- 
ified lines,  such  as: 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Canteen  service. 

Surgical  dressings. 

Social  service. 

Stenographers. 

Bookkeepers. 

Translators. 

Interpreters. 

(5)  Providing  money,  equipment,  etc.,  for  workers  who 
are  qualified  for  service  abroad  but  who  cannot  defray 
their  own  expenses. 

These  are  some  of  the  essential  services  in  which 
the  laywomen  can  help.  To  be  of  the  maximum  of 
assistance  to  themselves,  to  the  men  on  the  firing  line 
and  in  camps  and  to  the  Red  Cross,  the  untrained 
woman  should  seek  required  training.  The  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross  through  its  vast  machinery  of  Divi- 
sions and  Chapters  offers  channels  through  which 
training  in  most  lines  may  be  secured  and  in  all  of 
those  directly  bearing  on  war  relief.  The  successful 
laywoman  is  the  one  who  can 

1.  Take  orders. 

2.  Be  cooperative — work  with  as  well   as  for  the  Red 

Cross. 

3.  Regard  her  service  to  the  country  as  the  enlisted  man 
does  his  oath  of  allegiance. 

4.  Exercise  sound  judgment  and  have  breadth  of  vision. 

5.  Regard  service  as  her  keynote. 

Miss  Florence  Marshall,  Director  of  the  Woman's 
Bureau,  says:  "This  world  calamity  gives  to  the 
Red  Cross  an  opportunity  to  give  expression  to  the 
best  and  most  characteristic  side  of  American  life, 
and  to  do  it  on  a  scale  called  for  by  the  immensity 

150 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

of  the  sorrow  and  distress  of  mankind,  and  the  Red 
Cross  seeks  the  aid  of  the  women  of  the  nation  in  the 
gigantic  task.  The  Red  Cross  knows  the  women  are 
equal  to  the  emergency/' 

Emergency  detachments  of  the  Nursing  Service 
have  been  found  necessary  because  of  war.  The  body 
of  enrolled  Red  Cross  nurses  constitutes  the  reserve 
for  the  Army  and  Navy  Nurse  Corps.  The  purpose 
of  the  formation  of  emergency  detachments  is  to  make 
available  all  over  the  country  groups  of  Red  Cross 
nurses  organized  for  instant  call  to  active  service. 
The  organization  of  emergency  detachments  is  or- 
dinarily effected  by  Red  Cross  nursing  committees 
throughout  the  United  States.  The  usual  strength  of 
an  emergency  detachment  is  nine  or  ten  members 
but  a  smaller  number  may  be  authorized. 

Members  of  emergency  detachments  (1)  must  be 
enrolled  Red  Cross  nurses  or  eligible  and  willing  to 
enroll;  (2)  must  not  be  over  forty  nor  less  than 
twenty- three  years  of  age  (in  very  exceptional  cases 
some  latitude  may  be  allowed  beyond  the  set  limits 
upon  application  to  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of 
Nursing  Service  at  Washington,  stating  the  circum- 
stances) ;  (3)  must  pass  a  physical  examination  and 
file  certificate  of  examination  upon  the  form  fur- 
nished by  the  Red  Cross.  These  certificates  must  be 
sent  to  Washington  through  the  local  committee  or 
the  organizing  nurse  of  the  detachment — additional 
physical  examinations  may  be  required  from  time  to 
time;  (4)  must  file  a  certificate  of  immunity  upon 
a  form  also  furnished  by  the  Red  Cross  showing  that 
the  applicant  has  been  vaccinated  for  smallpox  and 
inoculated  for  typhoid  and  para-typhoid;  those  who 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

have  had  typhoid  fever  or  complete  immunity  treat- 
ment for  the  same  need  not  take  the  treatment  unless 
especially  requested  to  do  so. 

Enrolled  Red  Cross  nurses  receive  no  compensation 
except  when  assigned  to  active  duty.  When  called 
into  active  service  with  the  Army  and  Navy  Nurse 
Corps  they  will  receive  the  pay  provided  by  law  for 
said  Corps,  namely,  $50  a  month  in  the  United 
States  and  $60  a  month  elsewhere,  plus  maintenance 
and  traveling  expenses.  Chief  nurses  may  receive  ad- 
ditional salary. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  instructions  re- 
ceived from  the  Office  of  the  Surgeon-General  of  the 
Army.  A  similar  ruling  has  been  made  by  the  Navy 
Department.  "Reserve  nurses  assigned  to  active 
service  during  war  will  be  expected  to  serve  as  long 
as  they  may  be  needed.  A  nurse  who  desires  relief 
from  active  service  may  apply  therefor  by  letter  to 
the  Surgeon-General,  through  the  proper  channels, 
stating  her  reasons  in  full.  If  these  reasons  are  suf'- 
ficient  in  the  judgment  of  the  Surgeon-General  her 
request  may  be  granted.  Return  transportation  will 
not  be  authorized  to  nurses  who  have  served  less  than 
one  year,  unless  the  need  for  their  services  ceases  to 
exist,  or  to  those  who  are  discharged  for  misconduct. 
A  nurse  who  is  found  to  be  unsuited  for  the  service, 
physically,  professionally  or  temperamentally,  will 
be  furnished  transportation  to  her  home  for  relief 
from  active  service,  without  regard  to  length  of 
service. ' ' 

Special  circular  ARC  702  concerning  equipment, 
which  includes  specifications  for  uniform,  will  be 
supplied  to  each  nurse  before  assignment  to  active 

152 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

duty.  A  regulation  outdoor  uniform  has  also  been 
adopted. 

Red  Cross  nurses  definitely  assigned  to  war  serv- 
ice become  thereby  part  of  the  military  establishment 
of  the  United  States.  Although  they  remain  Red 
Cross  nurses  their  papers  are  transferred  to  the  Army 
or  the  Navy  Department,  as  the  case  may  be,  which 
thereupon  assumes  jurisdiction  and  issues  orders  and 
instructions  covering  assignments  to  duty  and  details 
of  transportation. 

It  is  highly  important  that  organizing  committees 
should  at  all  times  maintain  their  detachments  at 
maximum  strength  and  have  reasonable  assurance 
that  each  member  is  available  for  duty.  Under  no 
circumstances,  however,  should  nurses  give  up  posi- 
tions or  buy  equipment  except  on  direct  orders  from 
Washington.  Vacancies  caused  by  illness  or  any 
other  reason  should  be  filled  immediately  and  all  re- 
quired papers  for  the  substituted  members  should  be 
sent  at  once  to  Washington. 

The  refusal  of  a  nurse  to  serve  in  time  of  war  for 
any  reason  other  than  illness,  should  be  investigated 
and  such  refusal  without  justifiable  cause  should  be 
reported  promptly  to  the  National  Committee. 

When  the  organizing  nurse  of  a  detachment  is 
asked  to  submit  names  and  addresses  of  nurses  avail- 
able for  duty,  it  is  imperative  before  such  are  sent 
that  she  communicate  with  each  individual  nurse  to 
ascertain  if  she  is  ready  for  service.  At  the  same 
time  she  should  determine  the  correct  address  to 
which  the  assignment  for  duty,  oath  of  allegiance, 
and  transportation  may  be  sent.  The  nurse  should 
remain  at  the  address  given  until  these  orders  are 

153 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

received.  If  this  is  not  done  it  results  in  great  con- 
fusion in  the  War  Department  and  is  a  reflection 
upon  the  efficiency  of  the  Red  Cross  Nursing  Service. 
It  is  desirable,  when  possible,  that  nurses  assemble  at 
a  central  place  and  proceed  together  to  their  ap- 
pointed destination.  Under  such  circumstances,  the 
orders  can  be  mailed  to  the  organizing  nurse.  If  this 
is  not  possible,  the  orders  may  be  issued  to  each  nurse 
at  the  address  given. 

A  phase  of  Red  Cross  work  that  should  interest 
many  women,  especially  those  in  small  towns  and 
rural  districts,  is  the  Town  and  Country  Nursing 
Service.  This  department  grew  out  of  a  realization 
of  the  need  for  a  national  organization  of  specially 
prepared  nurses  for  public  health  work  in  small  towns 
and  rural  districts,  and  was  established  in  November, 
1912.  The  Town  and  Country  Service  does  not  oper- 
ate in  towns  or  cities  of  over  twenty-five  thousand  in- 
habitants. Red  Cross  public  health  nurses  are  em- 
ployed by  boards  of  health,  boards  of  education, 
county  boards  of  supervisors,  industrial  companies, 
anti-tuberculosis  associations,  women's  clubs,  and  by 
various  other  groups.  A  fee  is  usually  charged  by 
the  local  nursing  organization  where  nursing  care  is 
given,  although  patients  who  cannot  afford  to  pay  for 
such  help  are  not  denied  it  on  that  account. 

There  probably  never  was  a  time  when  the  question 
of  health  and  conservation  of  life  was  more  vital  to 
the  nation  than  now.  Instruction  in  a  community  in 
the  proper  feeding  and  care  of  infants  and  older 
children  and  in  hygiene  for  the  school  child,  in  con- 
servation of  food  supplies  and  in  the  making  of  san- 
itary homes,  will  go  far  towards  the  prevention  of 

154 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

disease  and  of  needless  suffering  and  death  among 
those  who  must  carry  the  unusual  burdens  resulting 
from  a  state  of  war.  Public  health  nursing  may  well 
be  termed  the  first  line  of  home  defense. 

The  Bureau  of  Town  and  Country  Nursing  Service 
is  one  of  three  bureaus  of  the  Red  Cross  Nursing 
Service,  the  other  two  being  the  Bureau  of  Nursing 
Service  and  the  Bureau  of  Instruction.  The  latter 
is  in  charge  of  classes  in  home  nursing  and  home  die- 
tetics. The  Bureau  of  Nursing  Service  controls  the 
nursing  service  (including  public  health  nursing)  for 
war  and  disaster  and  operates  through  the  Depart- 
ment of  Military  Relief. 

The  Red  Cross  realizes  the  importance  of  sending 
only  the  best  prepared  nurses  to  the  rural  districts 
where  the  lone  worker  carries  a  heavy  responsibility, 
and  great  care  is  accordingly  exercised  in  the  assign- 
ment of  public  health  nurses  to  duty.  Those  desiring 
further  information  on  this  subject  should  ask  their 
nearest  Red  Cross  Chapter,  their  district  chairman 
or  the  National  American  Red  Cross  for  circular  A. 
R.  C.  204,  which  contains  suggestions  for  the  or- 
ganization and  administration  of  public  health  nurs- 
ing in  small  communities,  and  for  the  guidance  of 
chapters  and  other  associations  contemplating  the 
employment  of  Red  Cross  public  health  nurses. 

A  Committee  of  Dieticians  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  was  appointed  in  1916  by  the  National  Com- 
mittee on  Nursing  Service  to  pass  on  the  credentials  of 
applicants  for  the  dietician  service  of  the  American 
Red  Cross,  not  for  active  service  with  the  society  in 
any  emergency  that  may  arise,  but  as  instructors  in 
the  Red  Cross  course  in  Home  Dietetics.    This  Com- 

155 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

mittee  was  also  made  responsible  for  the  establishment 
of  uniform  standards  for  the  enrollment  of  dieticians. 
There  are  widening  opportunities  for  instructors 
chiefly  through  the  agency  of  Red  Cross  Chapters. 
The  course  of  instruction  for  women,  which  has  been 
provided  by  the  Red  Cross  and  placed  under  the 
Bureau  of  Instruction  at  national  headquarters,  deals 
with  the  importance  of  a  well  balanced  diet  for  adults, 
children  and  invalids;  the  proper  selection  and  com- 
parative nutritive  value  of  food;  and  the  underlying 
principles  of  dietetics,  together  with  the  practical  ap- 
plication of  this  knowledge  to  buying,  cooking  and 
serving  food.  Instructors  in  this  course  are  subject 
to  the  regulations  of  the  Red  Cross  Nursing  Service. 
For  further  information  on  these  regulations  dieti- 
cians may  confer  with  the  educational  committee  of 
the  nearest  Red  Cross  Chapter. 

Miss  Jane  A.  Delano,  chairman  National  Commit- 
tee on  Red  Cross  Nursing  Service,  is  ex-officio  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee  on  Red  Cross  Dietician  Service. 
The  original  committee  consisted  of:  Chairman, 
Miss  Emma  H.  Gunther,  Columbia  University,  New 
York  City;  Miss  Isabel  Ely  Lord,  Pratt  Institute, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Miss  Annie  W.  Goodrich,  Columbia 
University,  New  York  City ;  and  Miss  Elva  A.  George, 
Red  Cross  Headquarters,  Washington,  D.  C.  An 
enlarged  committee  was  found  necessary,  which  in- 
cludes the  following  members:  Miss  Grace  E.  Me- 
Cullough,  Peter  Bent  Brigham  Hospital,  Boston, 
Mass. ;  Miss  Mary  A.  Lindsley,  Cook  County  Hospital, 
Chicago,  111. ;  Miss  Ada  Z.  Fish,  William  Penn  High 
School,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  Miss  Edna  White,  Ohio 
State  University,  Columbus,  Ohio;  Miss  Effie  Raitt, 

156 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

University  of  Washington,  Seattle,  Wash.;  Miss 
Emma  Smedley,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  Miss  Ruth 
Wheeler,  University  of  Illinois,  Urbana,  111.;  Miss 
Lenna  Cooper,  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium,  Battle 
Creek,  Mich. ;  IMiss  Catherine  J.  MacKay,  Iowa  State 
College,  Ames,  Iowa;  Dr.  Agnes  F.  Morgan,  Univer- 
sity of  California,  Berkeley,  Cal. ;  Miss  Helen  M. 
Pope,  Carnegie  Institute,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  Other 
members  may  be  added  as  necessary. 

Comfort  kits  are  always  in  great  demand  and  the 
Woman's  Bureau  of  the  American  Red  Cross,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  has  issued  a  circular  Number  A.  R.  C. 
402  which  fully  explains  the  proper  method  of  mak- 
ing these  comfort  kits  together  with  list  of  articles 
they  should  contain.  All  Red  Cross  Chapters  should 
be  able  to  supply  this  circular.  Completed  articles 
should  be  sent,  if  possible,  to  the  nearest  Red  Cross 
Chapter.  When  this  cannot  be  done,  they  should  be 
sent  directly  to  the  Red  Cross  Division  Supply  Serv- 
ice in  the  nearest  of  the  following  cities:  Boston, 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Washington,  Atlanta,  New 
Orleans,  St.  Louis,  Cleveland,  Chicago,  Minneapolis, 
Denver,  San  Francisco,  Seattle. 

The  Woman's  Bureau  also  issues  a  circular  (A.  R. 
C.  400)  giving  complete  instructions  for  knitting 
sweaters,  mufflers,  helmets,  socks,  wristlets,  wash 
cloths,  bottle  covers,  etc.  Every  woman  who  wishes 
to  knit  for  the  Red  Cross  should  have  these  instruc- 
tions, as  they  are  official.  Completed  articles  should 
be  sent,  if  possible,  to  the  nearest  Red  Cross  Chapter. 
When  this  cannot  be  done,  they  should  be  sent  di- 
rectly to  the  Red  Cross  Supply  Depot,  New  York 
City. 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  Home  Service  of  the  Red  Cross  under  the  De- 
partment of  Civilian  Relief  should  be  familiar  to 
every  American  woman.  The  absence  of  the  head  of 
the  family  is  the  absence  of  one  of  the  most  important 
members  of  the  household  firm  often,  indeed,  the  senior 
partner.  In  many  homes  the  absence  of  a  son  or 
brother  who  may  have  been  the  head  of  the  family 
involves  a  hardship  second  only  to  that  of  the  absence 
of  the  husband.  Any  deprivation  of  advice  and  sjnn- 
pathy  is  a  heavy  handicap  to  a  household,  even  in 
times  of  peace. 

The  purpose  of  the  Home  Service  is  not  merely  to 
offset  the  loss  of  income  that  the  absence  of  the  head 
of  the  family  involves,  but  to  make  possible  the  same 
standard  of  living  that  during  his  presence  was  in 
force.  More  than  this,  when  the  standard  of  living 
is  low,  it  is  the  duty  and  the  opportunity  of  the  Home 
Service  visitor  to  raise  the  standard. 

The  President  himself  has  said,  **  Battlefield  relief 
will  be  effected  through  Red  Cross  agencies  operating 
under  the  supervision  of  the  War  Department,  but 
civilian  relief  will  present  a  field  of  increasing  op- 
portunity in  which  the  Red  Cross  organization  is  es- 
pecially adapted  to  serve  and  I  am  hopeful  that  our 
people  will  realize  that  there  is  probably  no  other 
agency  with  which  they  can  associate  themselves 
which  can  respond  so  effectively  and  so  universally  to 
allay  suffering  and  relieve  distress." 

In  July,  1917,  the  Woman's  Bureau  sent  two  rep- 
resentatives to  France  to  study  the  question  of  gar- 
ments and  other  supplies  needed  for  the  hospitals  and 
refugees. 

These  representatives  and  other  women  already  in 
158 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

France  were  appointed  by  the  Red  Cross  Commission 
in  Paris  to  act  as  a  special  committee  for  this  pur- 
pose and  made  a  partial  report  on  the  garments  and 
supplies  that  are  immediately  needed. 

Anticipating  the  severe  cold  of  the  winter  in 
France,  this  report  emphasized  the  need  of  warm 
materials,  such  as  outing  flannels,  heavy  bath  robing, 
etc.,  for  hospital  garments. 

Models  for  garments  have  been  sent  to  the 
Woman's  Bureau  by  the  committee  in  Paris.  The 
models  have  been  given  to  the  pattern  companies, 
which  have  agreed  to  issue  patterns  in  strict  conform- 
ity with  them.  These  patterns  will  be  the  official 
Red  Cross  patterns,  and  can  be  obtained  from  chap- 
ters, stores,  or  the  pattern  companies  for  ten  cents 
each. 

Patterns  available  and  material  desired  for  each 
article  are  as  follows : 

Pyjamas — Material:  For  winter — Flannel  or  outing 
flannel,  good  quality.  For  summer — Ginghams, 
seersuckers,  and  similar  material. 
Color :  Light  or  dark  stripes  desirable  for  Ameri- 
can hospitals;  only  dark  colors  for  French  hos- 
pitals. 

Hospital  bed  shirts — Material:  For  winter — Canton 
flannel  and  twill,  good  quality.  For  summer — 
Twill,  or  good  quality  bleached  or  unbleached 
muslin.  Bed  shirts  should  be  at  least  1  yard 
and  4  inches  long,  finished. 

Hospital  bed  shirts  (taped) — Material:  Same  as  for 
bed  shirts. 

Bath  robes  and  convalescent  robes — Material:    For 

159 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

winter — Heavy  bath  robing.  For  summer — 
Gray  blanketing,  either  plain  or  with  striped 
borders. 

Bed  jackets — Material:     Bath  robing  or  other  very 
warm  soft  material. 

Convalescent  suits  (lined  pajamas) — Material:  Out- 
ing flannel  of  dark  plain  color  for  outside  and 
white  for  lining. 
Color:  Blue,  lined  with  white,  with  which  red  tie 
can  be  worn,  especially  desirable.  Important  to 
have  convalescent  patient  conspicuous. 

Bed  Socks — Material:    Flannel  or  outing  flannel. 

Undershirts — Material :    Light  weight  flannel  or  flan- 
nelette (white). 

Underdrawers — Material:    White  outing   flannel   or 
unbleached  muslin. 

Bandaged     foot    socks — Material:     Outing    flannel, 
preferably  dark;  lined  with  white. 

Operating  gowns — Material:     Twill,  good  grade. 

Operating  caps — Material:     Same  as  for  operating 
gowns. 

Operating    leggings — Material:     Canton    flannel    or 
flannel. 

Operating     masks — ^Material:     Hospital     gauze     or 
cheese  cloth  of  a  good  quality. 

Ice-bag  covers — Material:    Hospital  gauze  or  cheese 
cloth  of  a  good  quality. 

Hot  water  bag  covers — Material :     Outing  flannel. 

The  patterns  for  the  garments  are  all  issued  in  two 
sizes,  medium  and  large.  For  American  hospitals 
two  medium-sized  garments  should  be  made  to  every 
one  of  large  size.    For  French  hospitals,  no  large 

160 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

sizes  are  needed.  Where  no  special  mention  is  made, 
the  same  garments  and  other  articles  are  wanted  by 
both  American  and  French  hospitals. 

Materials,  including  emblems  which  are  to  be  used 
on  the  garments  when  the  patterns  call  for  them,  can 
be  purchased  by  the  chapters  from  the  Division  Sup- 
ply Depots. 

The  special  points  emphasized  in  the  report  of  the 
committee  are:  1.  Convalescent  robes  should  be 
warm;  heavy  bath  robing  is  preferred.  2.  Pajamas 
should  be  made  of  flannel  or  good  outing  flannel  for 
winter  use.  3.  Pajamas  for  the  French  hospitals 
should  be  made  in  dark  colors,  as  Fi-enchmen  wear 
them  only  when  about  the  hospitals  and  out-of-doors. 
Those  for  American  hospitals  may  be  made  in  light 
colors.  4.  Convalescent  suits  (lined  pajamas)  are 
needed,  as  the  men  wear  them  in  place  of  other  suits 
in  both  American  and  French  hospitals.  They  should 
be  made  of  bright  colored  materials  that  the  convales- 
cent patient  may  be  conspicuous.  5.  Both  pajamas 
and  lined  pajamas  are  preferred  with  a  turn-over 
collar  with  which  a  tie  may  be  worn.  6.  Nightin- 
gales are  not  desirable  for  either  American  or  French 
hospitals.  Bed  jackets  are  used  in  place  of  them  and 
should  be  made  of  warm  material.  7.  Operating  leg- 
gings are  desirable  made  of  flannel  of  heavy  Canton 
flannel  for  winter  use.  8.  Heavy,  warm  machine- 
made  sweaters  with  long  sleeves  are  needed  by  men 
in  the  tuberculosis  hospitals;  no  particular  color  is 
mentioned.  9.  Carpet  slippers,  or  Eomeos,  or  any 
good  soft  slipper  with  leather  soles  that  can  be  worn 
about  the  wards  and  in  the  hospital  grounds  are 
needed.     10.  There  is  an  endless  demand  for  socks — 

161 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Red  Cross  model  (for  Red  CroFS  model  of  socks,  see 
A.  R.  C.  400)  made  with  heavy  yarn  and  large  needles 
(at  least  as  large  as  No.  10  steel)  are  desirable,  but 
other  good  models  will  be  acceptable. 

The  report  of  the  committee  on  the  need  for  hos- 
pital linen  and  supplies  calls  for  the  following  articles 
for  which  no  patterns  are  given : 

1.  Sheets  (both  bleached  and  unbleached)  at  least 
64  inches  wide  and  102  inches  long.  These  may  be 
wider  or  longer  as  desired. 

2.  Pillow  slips  of  bleached  or  unbleached  muslin 
for  French  hospitals  should  be  28  inches  wide  and  30 
inches  long  and  should  have  three  pairs  of  tie  tapes 
stitched  on  the  inside  of  the  hem  to  hold  the  pillow 
in.  For  American  hospitals  they  should  be  about  36 
inches  long  by  21  inches  wide  when  finished. 

3.  Plain  towels  and  bath  towels.  There  is  a  great 
demand  for  towels  of  all  sorts. 

4.  Wash  cloths,  either  bath  toweling  or  closely  knit- 
ted ones. 

5.  Handkerchiefs,  colored  preferred;  white  accept- 
able. 

6.  Comfort  pillows,  all  sizes  and  shapes,  filled  with 
any  good  soft  material. 

7.  Bright  colored  bags,  unfilled,  for  the  men  to  use 
in  the  hospitals  for  their  small  personal  belongings. 
The  gayer  the  better. 

8.  Mattress  covers  need  not  be  supplied  for  Ameri- 
can hospitals.  For  French  hospitals  they  should  be 
made  of  ticking  with  French  seams.  One  end  should 
be  left  open  for  stuffing.  Measurements,  6  feet  4 
inches  long  by  2  feet  6  inches  wide  and  5  inches  thick, 

9.  Bed  spreads.     Colored  cotton  or  chintz,  7  feet 

162 


THE  WOMAN^S  COMMITTEE 

long  by  5  feet  wide.  These  should  be  packed  in  lots 
of  50  or  100  of  the  same  material. 

10.  Old  linen,  any  size,  in  good  condition  is  wanted. 

Garments  which  will  probably  be  needed  in  largest 
quantities  are:  pajamas  and  hospital  bed  shirts. 

Those  needed  in  the  second  largest  quantities :  con- 
valescent suits,  (lined  pajamas)  ;  underdrawers, 
undershirts,  taped  hospital  bed  shirts;  bath  robes; 
bed  socks;  bed  jackets. 

Those  needed  in  smaller  quantities:  operating 
caps;  operating  masks;  operating  gowns;  operating 
leggings;  bandaged  foot  socks. 

All  other  supplies,  towels,  sheets,  pillow  cases,  etc., 
are  needed  continuously. 

A  representative  of  the  Woman's  Bureau  will  re- 
main permanently  in  France  to  study  the  demands 
for  all  kinds  of  garments  and  supplies,  in  order  to 
keep  chapters  in  touch  with  the  latest  needs. 

Boxes  containing  garments  and  hospital  supplies 
should  not  exceed  3x2x2  feet  in  size.  They  should 
be  made  of  five-eighths  inch  tongue  and  grooved 
boards,  strongly  joined  at  the  corners,  and  should  be 
lined  with  heavy  water-proof  paper,  which  must  ex- 
tend over  the  top  of  the  contents  after  the  box  is 
filled.  When  possible  each  box  should  be  filled  with 
only  one  kind  of  garments  or  supplies.  Garments  or 
supplies  designed  for  American  or  French  hospitals 
should  be  packed  in  separate  boxes,  and  so  marked  on 
the  outside  of  the  box. 

Each  box  of  garments  should  contain  the  water- 
proof paper  wrapping,  a  typewritten  inventory  of  its 
contents  following  the  name  and  address  of  the  ship- 
per.   Boxes  should  be  marked  on  top  ''American  Red 

163 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Cross,  Divison  Supply  Depot,"  with  the  address  to 
which  the  box  is  to  be  sent.  The  name  and  address  of 
the  shipper,  the  serial  number  of  the  box,  and  a  state- 
ment (stenciled  on  the  wood)  of  the  contents  of  the 
box  should  also  be  given.  A  red  cross  four  and  one- 
half  inches  high  and  wide,  should  be  painted  on  each 
end  of  the  box. 

Express  companies  will  accept  gifts  to  the  Red 
Cross  for  shipment  at  two-thirds  their  regular  rate, 
when  prepaid  and  addressed  as  above. 

Chapters  should  ship  to  their  Division  Supply 
Depot  in  one  of  the  following  cities :  Boston,  Atlanta, 
Chicago,  Seattle,  New  York,  New  Orleans,  Minne- 
apolis, Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  Denver,  Washington, 
Cleveland,  San  Francisco. 

An  invoice  or  notice  of  shipment,  giving  the  serial 
number  of  the  box  or  boxes  sent,  and  duplicate  copies 
of  their  inventories,  should  be  mailed  by  all  shippers 
to  the  Chapter  or  Division  Supply  Depot  to  which 
the  shipment  is  being  forwarded. 

For  the  purpose  of  more  efficient  operation,  the 
American  Red  Cross  has  decided  to  divide  the  United 
States  into  Thirteen  Divisions,  each  of  which  will  be  a 
separate  and  complete  operating  unit  of  the  Red 
Cross,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Division  Manager. 

Each  Division  Manager  will  look  to  National  Head- 
quarters at  Washington  for  determination  of  ques- 
tions of  policy  and  for  suggestions  that  will  increase 
the  efficiency  and  productivity  of  the  chapters  in  his 
division. 

All  chapters  will  deal  directly  with  the  division 
organizations,  and  the  head  of  each  chapter  will  be 
responsible  to  the   Division   Manager   in   each   case. 

164 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

The  National  organization  will  have  contact  with  the 
chapters  only  through  the  various  division  offices. 

By  such  decentralization,  National  Headquarters 
at  Washington  will  be  enabled  to  give  closer  study 
and  attention  to  large  matters  of  policy,  and  to  the 
fullest  possible  extension  and  development  of  the 
American  Red  Cross. 

The  divisions  and  directors  are  as  follows:  At- 
lantic, Miss  Ellen  L.  Adee,  1  Madison  Avenue,  New 
York,  N.  Y. ;  Central  Gulf,  Mrs.  E.  E.  Moberley,  P.  0. 
Bldg.,  New  Orleans ;  Lake,  Mrs.  H.  L.  Sanf ord,  1034 
Garfield  Bldg.,  Cleveland,  Ohio ;  Mountain,  Mr.  Henry 
Swan  (acting),  14th  and  Welton  Sts.,  Denver;  New 
England,  Miss  Lavinia  H.  Newell,  755  Boylston  St., 
Boston,  Mass. ;  Northern,  Mrs.  F.  L.  Fridley,  28  S.  8th 
St.,  Minneapolis,  Minn.;  Northwestern,  Mrs.  Lucy  C. 
Hilton,  White  Building,  Seattle,  Wash. ;  Pacific,  Mrs. 
A.  L.  McLeish,  942  Market  St.,  San  Francisco ;  Penn- 
sylvania, Mrs.  J.  Willis  Martin,  1601  Walnut  St., 
Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  Potomac,  Mrs.  F.  L.  Chapman,  930 
14th  St.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Southern,  Mrs.  John  W. 
Grant,  424  Healy  Bldg.,  Atlanta,  Ga. ;  Southwestern, 
Mrs.  Edmund  F.  Brown,  1617  Railway  Exchange,  St. 
Louis.  Mo. 

Red  Cross  Home  Service  Institutes  have  been  estab- 
lished as  follows : 

1.  Atlanta  — Director,    Miss    Edith    Thomson,    705 

Gould  Building. 
Supervisor,  Miss  Helen  Muse. 
Afifihated  with  the  Methodist  Training 

School. 

2.  Baltimore        — Director,  Miss  Theo.  Jacobs,  16  St.  Paul 

St. 

165 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 


3.  Boston 


4.  Chicago 


5.  Cincinnati 


6.  Cleveland 


7.  Columbia 
S.  C. 


8.  Columbus 


9.  Dallas 


Supervisor,  Miss  Mary  C.  Goodwillie. 
In    cooperation    with    Johns    Hopkins 
University  and  Goucher  College. 
— Director,  Miss  Katherine  McMahon,  755 
Boylston   St. 
Supervisor,  Mrs.  Alice  Higgins  Loth- 

rop. 
Affiliated  with  the  Boston  School  for 
Social  workers. 
— Director,  Miss  Sophonisba  P.  Breckin- 
ridge, 2559  Michigan  Ave. 
Supervisor,  Miss  Elizabeth  S.  Dixon. 
Affiliated  with  the  Chicago  School  of 
Civics  and  Philanthropy. 
— Director,  Professor  S.  G.  Lowrie,  Uni- 
versity of  Cincinnati. 
Affiliated  with  University  of  Cincinnati. 
— Director,  Mr.  James  F.  Jackson,  2182 
East  9th  St. 
Supervisor,  Miss  Helen  W.  Hanchette. 
Affiliated  with  Western  Reserve  Uni- 
versity. 
— Director,   Miss   Margaret  Laing,   1211 
Gervais  St. 
Assistant  Director,  Miss  Helen  Kohn. 
Affiliated    with    University    of    South 
Carolina. 
— Director,  Professor  J.  E.  Hagerty,  Ohio 
State  University. 
Supervisor,  Mr.  Stockton  Raymond. 
Affiliated  with  Ohio  State  University. 
— Director,  Dr.  Ivan  Lee  Holt,  Southern 
Methodist  University. 
Supervisor,  Miss  Flora  Say  lor. 
Affiliated  with  Southern  Methodist  Uni- 
versity. 
166 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

10.  Denver  — Director,     Prof.     Loran     D.     Osbom, 

Mountain  Division  Office,  Red  Cross, 
14th  &  Wilton  Sts. 

Supervisor,  Miss  Gertrude  Vaile. 

Affiliated  with  the  University  of  Colo- 
rado. 

11.  Indianapolis   — Director,   Prof.   J.   J.   Pettijohn,   1016 

Merchants  Bank  Bldg. 

Supervisor,  Mr.  Eugene  Foster. 

Affiliated  with  the  University  of  Indi- 
ana. 

12.  Milwaukee       — Director,  Professor  John  John  L.  Gil- 

len,  Madison,  Wisconsin. 

Supervisor,  Miss  Nell  Alexander. 

Affiliated  with  the  University  of  Wis- 
consin. 

13.  Minneapolis    — Director,  Prof.  A.  J.  Todd,  University 

and  St.  Paul        of  Minnesota. 

Supervisor,  Minneapolis,  Miss  Caroline 
Bedford,  25  Old  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. 

Supervisor,  St.  Paul,  Miss  Kathleen  E. 
Gunckel,  104  Wilder  Bldg. 

Affiliated  with  the  University  of  Minne- 
sota. 

14.  New   Orleans — Director,  Miss  Eleanor  McMain,  1202 

Annunciation  Street. 
Supervisor,  Mr.  Julius  Goldman. 
Affiliated  with  Tulane  University. 

15.  New  York       —Director,  Mr.  Porter  R.  Lee,  105  East 

City  22nd  St. 

Supervisors,  Mrs.  John  M.  Glenn,  30 
East  36th  St.;  Mrs.  Janet  Anderson, 
185  Montague  St.,  Brooklyn. 
Affiliated  with  the  New  York  School  of 
Philanthropy. 
167 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

16,  Philadelphia   — Director,  Mr.  Bernard  J.  Newman,  425 
S.  15th  St. 
Supervisor,  Miss  Elizabeth  Wood. 
Affiliated  with  the  Pennsylvania  School 
for  Social  Service. 
L7.  Pittsburgh       — Director,    Prof.    Francis    Tyson,    Uni- 
versity of  Pittsburgh. 
Supervisor,  Miss  Eleanor  Hanson. 
Affiliated  with  the  University  of  Pitts- 
burgh. 

18.  Portland,  Ore. — Director,  Mr.  Paul  H.  Douglas,  Reed 

College. 
Supervisor,  Mr.  A.  R.  Gephart. 
Affiliated  with  Reed  College. 

19.  Poughkeepsie — Affiliated  with  Vassar  College. 

20.  Richmond        —Director,  Dr.  H.  H.  Hibbs,  Jr.,  1112 

Capitol  St. 
Supervisor,  Miss  Leomis  Logan. 
Affiliated  with  the  Richmond  School  of 

Social  Economy. 

21.  San  Francisco — Director,  Dr.  Jessica  Peixotto,  Univer- 

sity of  California. 
Supervisor,  Miss  Lucy  Stebbins. 
Affiliated  with  University  of  California. 

22.  St.  Louis        —Director,  Dr.  George  B.  Mangold,  2221 

Locust  St. 
Supervisor,  Miss  William  Wilder. 
Affiliated  with  the  Missouri  School  of 

Social  Economy. 

23.  Seattle  —Director,    Prof.    William    F.    Ogbum, 

University  of  Washington. 

SuperAdsor,  Miss  Virginia  McMechen. 

Affiliated  with  the  University  of  Wash- 
ington. 

24.  Springfield,     — Director,  Dr.  J.  G.   Stevens,  Urbana, 

111.  111. 

168 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

Supervisor,  Miss  Margaret  Bergen, 
Springfield,  111. 

Affiliated  with  the  University  of  Illinois. 
25.  Washington  —Director,  Mr.  Walter  S.  Ufford,  923  H 
St.,  N.  W. 

Supervisor,  Mrs.  Walter  S.  Ufford. 

Affiliated  with  George  Washington  Uni- 
versity. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

JUNIOR  RED  CROSS 

The  school  fund — Red  Cross  school  activities — Steps  in 
organization — Infant  Welfare  Unit  for  France  financed 
by  American  women — Children's  Refuge — Children's 
Bureau  undertakes  great  work  in  France. 

A  NEW  class  of  membership  has  been  authorized  by 
the  American  Red  Cross  known  as  Junior  Red  Cross 
Membership.  It  is  open  to  all  boys  and  girls  of 
school  age  in  attendance  on  public,  private  or  pa- 
rochial schools,  or  attending  other  organized  educa- 
tional centers,  under  direction  acceptable  to  the 
Chapter  School  Committee,  but  only  to  such  student 
body  as  a  whole.  In  special  cases,  a  Red  Cross  Chap- 
ter may  accept  the  recommendation  of  the  Chapter 
School  Committee  that  one  or  more  classes  or  grades 
of  a  school  be  permitted  to  organize  as  a  School  Aux- 
iliary pending  a  more  complete  organization. 

Junior  Membership  through  the  School  Auxiliary 
is  granted  when,  for  this  purpose,  a  sum  equal  to 
twenty-five  cents  for  each  pupil  has  been  contributed 
to  the  Chapter  School  Fund,  or  when  the  school  is 
pledged  to  prepare  Red  Cross  supplies  or  engage  in 
other  Red  Cross  activities  approved  and  supervised 
by  the  Chapter  School  Committee.  These  require- 
ments should  be  based  on  the  ability  of  the  individual 
school   to   make    a   real    contribution   to  Red  Cross 

170 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

agencies,  or  to  enter  with  loyalty  and  serious  pur- 
pose into  Red  Cross  school  activities,  as  suggested 
by  national  headquarters. 

This  payment  or  pledge  having  been  made  and 
accepted,  on  application  of  the  principal,  the  treas- 
urer of  the  Chapter  School  Fund  issues  a  certificate 
which  entitles  the  school  to  be  known  as  a  School 
Auxiliary  of  the  local  chapter  of  the  American  Red 
Cross,  and  to  display  a  special  Red  Cross  banner  bear- 
ing the  name  of  the  school  and  with  space  for  record- 
ing succeeding  years  of  membership.  The  pupils  in 
the  school  now  become  Junior  Members  of  the  Red 
Cross  and  are  entitled  to  wear  the  Red  Cross  member- 
ship button.  The  school  principal,  or  his  deputy, 
becomes  chairman,  and  the  teachers,  members  or 
officers  of  the  School  Auxiliary.  Junior  Membership 
is  granted  for  the  period  of  the  school  year,  and  re- 
newals of  membership  should,  therefore,  be  made  as 
early  in  the  school  year  as  possible.  School  Auxil- 
iaries may,  for  convenience,  elect  to  organize  through 
a  branch  or  auxiliary  of  the  Chapter,  subject  to  gen- 
eral regulations. 

The  school  fund  is  maintained  chiefly  for  the 
purchase  of  materials  to  be  made  up  into  surgical  and 
other  supplies,  by  the  school  for  the  Red  Cross.  In 
instances  where  more  money  has  been  contributed 
than  is  necessary  for  these  purposes,  the  money  may 
be  given  for  other  uses  of  the  Red  Cross  by  vote  of 
the  School  Committee  of  the  Chapter. 

The  school  fund  is  composed  of  Junior  Member- 
ship dues  and  other  contributions  from  any  source. 
No  part  of  it  is  diverted  for  Chapter  use  or  for  gen- 
eral expenses  for  the  Red  Cross.     The  treasurer  of 

171 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  School  Fund  acts  under  the  instructions  of  the 
School  Committee  and  reports  annually  to  the  Chap- 
ter; no  further  accounting  is  required.  A  School 
Auxiliary  may  make  request  of  the  School  Committee 
for  permission  to  draw  upon  the  fund  to  the  extent 
of  its  contribution,  for  its  own  Red  Cross  expenses, 
and  the  Committee  will  instruct  the  treasurer  to  grant 
this  request. 

The  work  of  boys  and  girls  for  the  Red  Cross  will 
vary  widely  in  different  localities.  The  training  of 
mind  and  hand  which  must  precede  effective  con- 
certed action  for  community  relief  and  betterment  is 
the  goal  of  the  Red  Cross,  no  less  than  the  care  of 
the  sick  and  wounded.  Such  training  involves  all  the 
duties  of  citizenship.  In  general,  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  educational  aspect  of  the  work 
for  children  is  to  be  emphasized.  It  is  suggested 
that  in  the  early  stage  or  organization,  special  atten- 
tion be  given  to  teaching  the  history  of  the  Red  Cross, 
its  services  to  the  nation  and  to  other  nations,  and  its 
present  organization  for  war  service.  For  this,  the 
Red  Cross  Magazine  files  are  useful.  In  some  centers 
story-tellers,  songs  and  games  have  been  employed  to 
aid  in  this  message.  Lantern  slides  and  moving  pic- 
tures will  shortly  be  ready,  and  may  be  secured 
through  Red  Cross  Division  Headquarters. 

Courses  in  first  aid,  home  nursing,  and  dietetics  can 
be  given  to  older  pupils.  All  children  should  know, 
in  an  elementary  way,  the  essentials  of  these  subjects. 
They  should  also  be  taught  how  to  meet  emergencies, 
such  as  extinguishing  a  small  fire,  how  to  swim,  and 
be  given  other  exercises  which  will  develop  their 
presence  of  mind  and  resourcefulness.    It  is  essential 

172 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

that  school  authorities  in  all  cases  should  receive  pre- 
cise instructions  from  the  Chapter  School  Committee 
before  undertaking  to  prepare  any  articles  for  the 
Red  Cross. 

Boys  and  girls  can  frequently  render  service 
occupying  but  a  brief  period  of  the  day,  which  will 
be  of  great  value  to  the  Chapter.  This  work  may  be 
done  in  complete  cooperation  with  the  older  mem- 
bers. It  includes  aid  in  campaigns  with  posters,  can- 
vassing, distribution  of  circulars,  gathering  of  mag- 
azines and  books  for  soldiers,  packing  supplies,  and 
many  other  tasks.  In  addition  to  these  services  to  the 
Chapter,  aid  can  be  rendered  the  community  in  the 
safeguarding  of  health,  care  of  property,  regard  for 
animals  and  birds,  and  in  the  performance  of  the  like 
duties  of  every  good  citizen. 

Under  the  supervision  of  Red  Cross  Directors  of 
Home  Service,  it  is  probable  that  Red  Cross  Junior 
Members  will  find  much  to  do,  in  caring  for  others 
who  have  at  this  time  special  claim  upon  the  assist- 
ance of  the  nation.  This  work  should  be  most  pru- 
dently carried  on  and  never  without  full  approval  of 
the  proper  officers. 

The  following  instructions  for  organizations  are 
official : 

To  School  Authorities:  Obtain  circulars  and  in- 
structions from  your  Red  Cross  Division  Head- 
quarters. 

Obtain  the  consent  of  the  school  principal  before 
undertaking  to  organize  any  school  Red  Cross  activi- 
ties. Do  not  use  the  term  ''School  Auxiliary"  until 
your  school  has  received  permission  to  do  so  from  the 
treasurer  of  the  Chapter  School  Fund. 

173 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Ask  your  local  Red  Cross  Chapter  to  appoint  a 
school  committee — composed  mainly  of  school  au- 
thorities— and  a  treasurer  of  the  Chapter  School 
Fund. 

The  Chapter  furnishes  buttons  for  Junior  Mem- 
bers on  application.  Banners  and  other  special  in- 
signia may  be  adopted  by  authorization  of  the  Chap- 
ter School  Committee. 

Where  request  is  made  to  the  Division  Manager,  a 
state  committee  will  be  appointed  to  stimulate  and 
aid  in  organizing  School  Auxiliaries. 

To  Chapters:  Consult  with  school  authorities  in 
public  and  private  schools  before  initiating  steps  of 
organization. 

Apply  to  your  Division  Manager  for  information 
and  permission  to  organize. 

Secure  for  treasurer  of  the  Chapter  School  Fund 
an  official  experienced  in  school  administration. 

Appoint  to  your  Chapter  School  Committee  per- 
sons qualified  to  arouse  enthusiasm  for  the  work  and 
having  adequate  knowledge  of  local  school  opportu- 
nities for  service. 

General  inquiries  on  methods  of  organization  of 
Eed  Cross  Junior  Membership  may  be  addressed  to 
the  office  of  the  Division  Manager.  Special  cor- 
respondence on  matters  affecting  the  national  plan 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  H.  N.  MacCracken,  Na- 
tional Director  of  Junior  Membership,  American  Red 
Cross,  Washington,  D.  C. 

On  September  15,  1917,  the  President  issued  the 
following  proclamation : 

174 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

To  THE  School  Children  of  the  United  States: 

The  President  of  the  United  States  is  also  President  of 
the  American  Red  Cross.  It  is  from  these  offices  joined  in 
one  that  I  write  you  a  word  of  greeting  at  this  time  when  so 
many  of  you  are  beginning  the  school  year. 

The  American  Red  Cross  has  just  prepared  a  Junior 
Membership  with  School  Activities  in  which  every  pupil  in 
the  United  States  can  find  a  chance  to  serve  our  country. 
The  school  is  the  natural  center  of  your  life.  Through  it 
you  can  best  work  in  the  great  cause  of  freedom  to  which 
we  have  all  pledged  ourselves. 

Our  Junior  Red  Cross  will  bring  to  you  opportunities  of 
service  to  your  community  and  to  other  communities  all 
over  the  world  and  guide  your  service  with  high  and  re- 
ligious ideals.  It  will  teach  you  how  to  save  in  order  that 
suffering  children  elsewhere  may  have  the  chance  to  live. 
It  will  teach  you  how  to  prepare  some  of  the  supplies  which 
wounded  soldiers  and  homeless  families  lack.  It  will  send 
to  you  through  the  Red  Cross  Bulletins  the  thrilling  stories 
of  relief  and  rescue.  And  best  of  all,  more  perfectly  than 
through  any  of  your  other  school  lessons,  you  will  learn  by 
doing  those  kind  things  under  your  teacher's  direction,  to 
be  the  future  good  citizens  of  this  great  country  which  we 
all  love. 

And  I  commend  to  all  school  teachers  in  the  country  the 
simple  plan  which  the  American  Red  Cross  has  worked  out 
to  provide  for  your  cooperation,  knowing  as  I  do  that 
school  children  will  give  their  best  service  under  the  direct 
guidance  and  instruction  of  their  teachers.  Is  not  this  per- 
haps the  chance  for  which  you  have  been  looking  to  give 
your  time  and  efforts  in  some  measure  to  meet  our  national 
needs  ? 

(Signed) 

WooDROw  Wilson, 
September  15,  1917.  President. 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

A  group  of  specialists  in  infant  welfare  has  been 
sent  to  France  by  the  American  Red  Cross,  and  it  will 
be  a  matter  of  pride  to  every  American  woman  to 
know  that  this  great  undertaking  was  financed  by  an 
American  woman,  Mrs.  William  Lowell  Putnam,  of 
Boston.  At  its  head  is  Dr.  William  P.  Lucas,  Pro- 
fessor of  Pediatrics  in  the  University  of  California, 
and  orginator  of  the  ''Save  a  Belgian  Baby"  move- 
ment. 

Before  the  war  the  birth  rate  and  death  rate  in 
France  were  so  nearly  equal  that  publicists  voiced 
their  concern  over  the  future  of  the  national  life. 
Last  year,  however,  with  the  death  rate  probably  over 
20  per  1000,  not  counting  deaths  of  men  in  military 
service,  the  birth  rate  was  officially  estimated  at  only 
8  per  1000.  In  New  York  State  the  birth  rate  is  23 
or  24  per  1000,  the  death  rate  about  14  per  1000. 

The  total  deaths  in  France  in  1916  were  about 
1,100,000.  Births  numbered  only  312,000.  The  net 
loss  in  population  was  788,000  or  nearly  two  per  cent, 
of  the  whole.  In  Paris,  where  48,917  babies  were 
born  in  the  year  ending  August  1,  1914,  only  26,179 
were  born  in  the  second  year  of  the  war,  ending 
August  1,  1916. 

"There  is  a  crying  need  for  effective  work  among 
children,'*  was  the  message  that  came  from  Major 
Grayson  M.  P.  Murphy,  head  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  Commission  in  France.  He  reported  a  great 
need  for  doctors  and  nurses  for  work  with  mothers 
and  children,  and  the  Infant  Welfare  Unit  is  pre- 
pared to  give  such  immediate  relief  as  it  can. 

Dr.  Lucas  was  accompanied  by  Dr.  J.  Morris  Sie- 
mens, of  the  Yale  Medical  School,  one   of   the   best 

176 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

known  of  American  obstetricians;  Dr.  Julius  Parker 
Sedgwick,  physiological  chemist,  professor  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Minnesota;  Dr.  John  C.  Baldwin,  specialist 
in  diseases  of  children;  Dr.  Clain  F.  Gelston,  Dr. 
Lucas's  assistant  at  the  University  of  California;  Dr. 
N.  O.  Pearce,  another  specialist,  and  the  following 
experts  in  sociology  and  child  welfare  work:  ^Irs.  J. 
Morris  Slemons,  Mrs.  William  P.  Lucas,  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Ashe,  and  Miss  Rosamond  Gilder,  daughter  of 
the  poet. 

A  month  later  Dr.  Charles  Ulysses  Moore,  of  Port- 
land, Oregon,  was  sent  to  France  to  reenforce  the  In- 
fant Welfare  Unit.  With  Dr.  Moore  went  a  group  of 
sixteen  nurses  who  have  had  special  training  in  chil- 
dren's diseases  and  social  welfare  work.  These  reen- 
forcements  were  sent  in  response  to  a  cabled  request 
from  Major  Murphy,  under  whose  direction  Dr.  Lucas 
is  working.  In  response  to  urgent  cable  requests 
from  Major  Murphy  a  third  detachment  of  child  wel- 
fare doctors  and  nurses  sailed  for  France  a  short 
time  later. 

Physicians  and  child  specialists  included  in  the 
party  were  Dr.  J.  H.  Mason  Knox,  Jr.,  of  Baltimore; 
Dr.  John  B.  Manning,  of  Seattle;  Dr.  Florence  Chap- 
man Child,  of  Philadelphia ;  Dr.  Edmund  J.  Labbe,  of 
Portland,  Ore.,  professor  of  Pediatrics  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oregon;  Dr.  Ethel  Lyon  Heard,  of  Galves- 
ton, Tex. ;  Dr.  Helen  H.  Woodroffe,  of  Ocean  Park, 
Cal.;  Dr.  Dorothy  Child,  of  Philadelphia;  Dr.  0.  H. 
Sellenings,  of  Columbus,  0.;  and  Dr.  Hugh  Heaton, 
of  Melstone,  Mont.  There  were  also  nine  or  ten  Red 
Cross  nurses. 

"The  demand  for  children's  specialists,"  Major 
177 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Murphy  cabled,  ''far  exceeds  expectations.  The  or- 
iginal unit  is  now  serving  three  different  localities  to 
meet  the  urgent  demands  for  help.  These  calls  come 
from  the  devastated  area  and  elsewhere  in  France/' 

The  American  specialists  made  a  survey  of  the  sit- 
uation and  studied  the  work  already  being  done  by 
the  French.  They  practice  without  receiving  com- 
pensation from  patients.  The  task  before  the  Red 
Cross,  which  will  be  carried  on  by  this  and  succeed- 
ing units,  is  not  only  to  cooperate  with  French  spe- 
cialists but  also  to  carry  on  a  general  educational  cam- 
paign among  French  mothers  in  the  interest  of  better 
prenatal  hygiene  and  scientific  feeding  and  care  of 
the  babies.  Special  efforts  will  be  made  to  protect 
children  from  tubercular  infection,  which  is  particu- 
larly threatening  France  today  as  a  result  of  trench 
warfare.  Effort  will  be  made  to  decrease  the  present 
death  rate  among  children  under  two  years  of  age, 
which,  with  the  falling  birth  rate,  threatens  rapidly 
to  depopulate  the  country.  It  is  expected  that  doc- 
tors and  nurses  will  be  assigned  to  service  at  all  the 
points  of  greatest  need  in  France.  They  are  to  be 
stationed  in  groups  of  two  or  more  at  leading  hos- 
pitals from  which  house  to  house  work  and  educa- 
tional campaigns  can  be  conducted,  both  in  the  cities 
and  through  the  country  districts. 

The  Red  Cross  has  established  a  children's  refuge 
near  Toul  where  seven  hundred  and  fifty  boys  and 
girls,  from  near  by  villages  which  have  been  under 
bombardment,  are  now  being  kept  safe  from  gas  at- 
tacks under  expert  medical  care,  in  cooperation  with 
the  French  government.  In  Belgium  the  Red  Cross, 
together  with  the  Rockefeller  Foundation,  is  prepar- 

178 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

ing  to  care  for  between  five  and  six  thousand 
children. 

The  work  of  the  Children's  Bureau  is  described  as 
follows : 

^^The  Children's  Bureau  in  the  Department  of 
Civil  Affairs  of  the  Red  Cross  Commission  to  France 
received  an  appeal  from  Nesle  through  Monsieur  and 
Madame  Amedee  Vernes  of  the  French  Red  Cross  for 
aid  among  the  children  of  their  district  and  the 
group  of  villages  to  the  north  and  west. 

''In  response,  an  expert  from  the  Children's  Bu- 
reau, a  specialist  in  children's  diseases  from  Johns 
Hopkins  Hospital,  was  sent  immediately  to  investi- 
gate the  conditions.  He  visited  the  region  in  com- 
pany with  Monsieur  Amedee  Vernes  and  found  vil- 
lages looted  and  burned,  with  all  buildings  destroyed. 
He  found  more  than  one  thousand  children  practi- 
cally with  no  medical  care,  all  miserably  dirty,  and 
one-half  of  whom  were  infected  with  skin  or  eye 
lesions,  and  many  actually  ill. 

"The  equipment  for  any  medical  care  was  ex- 
tremely meager;  one  old  hospital  stripped  of  all  its 
apparatus,  one  aged  civilian  doctor  left  without  drugs 
or  means  of  getting  them,  villages  to  look  after  be- 
sides his  army  duties,  and  one  midwife  fairly  intel- 
ligent who  might  help.     'Twas  an  acute  situation. 

''Nesle  immediately  offered  a  tuberculosis  pavilion, 
now  unused,  for  the  Red  Cross  headquarters,  if  the 
American  Red  Cross  would  help.  The  doctor's  rec- 
ommendations upon  his  return  were  immediately  ac- 
cepted. 

"The  Children's  Bureau  began  work  by  installing 
a  central  depot  at  Nesle  with  ten  beds  as  a  clearing 

179 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

house  for  the  district,  and  by  equipping  an  auto- 
mobile as  a  traveling  dispensary,  with  shower  baths. 
The  ears  visit  the  villages  on  a  daily  round  with  one 
good  trained  nurse  and  two  aides.'' 


CHAPTER  XIV 

NATIONAL  LEAGUE  FOR  WOMAN'S  SERVICE 

America's  largest  and  most  remarkable  war  emergency 
organization — Its  various  departments  and  some  de- 
tails of  its  plans — With  branches  in  every  state  this 
organization  has  far-reaching  influence  and  is  oflBcially 
recognized. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  examples  of  the  genius 
of  American  women  for  organization  is  found  in  the 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service,  an  organiza- 
tion that  has  been  doing  practical  war  work  since 
January,  1917 — nearly  three  months  before  this  coun- 
try declared  war  against  Germany. 

The  program  of  work  on  which  the  National 
League  for  Woman's  Service  is  based  was  presented 
at  the  Congress  for  Constructive  Patriotism  held  in 
Washington  January,  25,  26  and  27,  1917,  and  was 
endorsed  by  Congress.  A  woman's  session  was  held 
at  which  over  five  hundred  women  from  all  parts  of 
the  United  States  were  present,  representing  many 
national,  state  and  local  organizations.  At  this  ses- 
sion a  resolution  was  passed  endorsing  the  program 
and  authorizing  the  chairman  to  appoint  an  organiza- 
tion committee  of  not  less  than  fifteen  members,  to  be 
national  in  representation,  this  committee  to  proceed 
at  once  with  the  plans  for  an  organization  to  promote 
the  program  for  woman's  work  in  America.  Thus, 
the  National  League  for  Woman's  Service  came  into 

181 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

being  in  Washington,  D.  C,  on  January  27,  1917. 
The  organization  committee  consisted  of:  chairman, 
Miss  Maude  Wetmore,  Rhode  Island;  treasurer.  Miss 
Anne  Morgan,  New  York ;  national  commandant,  Miss 
Grace  Parker,  New  York;  Mrs.  Rogers  H.  Bacon, 
New  York;  Mrs.  Charles  F.  Edson,  California; 
Mrs.  Goelet  Gallatin,  Wyoming;  Mrs.  F.  V. 
Hammar,  Missouri;  Mrs.  E.  R.  Hewitt,  New  Jer- 
sey; Mrs.  George  Hoadley,  Ohio;  Mrs.  George  S. 
Isham,  Illinois;  Mrs.  J.  Willis  Martin,  Pennsylvania; 
Miss  Marie  Obenauer,  Pennsylvania ;  Mrs.  Thomas  B. 
Owen,  Alabama;  Mrs.  Lindsay  Patterson,  North  Car- 
olina; Mrs.  William  W.  Sale,  Virginia;  Mrs.  C.  A. 
Severance,  Minnesota;  Mrs.  Hugh  L.  Scott,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. ;  Mrs.  Lewis  B.  Stillwell,  New  Jersey ;  Mrs. 
William  Gumming  Story,  New  York;  Mrs.  CofBn 
Van  Rensselaer,  New  York;  Mrs.  Barret  Wendell, 
Massachusetts. 

The  object  of  the  National  League  for  Woman's 
Service  is  to  coordinate  and  standardize  the  work  of 
women  of  America  along  lines  of  constructive  pa- 
triotism; to  develop  the  resources,  to  promote  the 
efficiency  of  women  in  meeting  their  every-day  re- 
sponsibility to  home,  to  state,  to  nation  and  to  hu- 
manity; to  provide  organized,  trained  groups  in 
every  community  prepared  to  cooperate  with  the  Red 
Cross  and  other  agencies  in  dealing  with  any  calam- 
ity— fire,  flood,  famine,  economic  disorder,  etc.,  and 
in  time  of  war,  to  supplement  the  work  of  the  Red 
Cross,  the  Army  and  Navy,  and  to  deal  with  the  ques- 
tions of  *' Woman's  Work  and  Woman's  Welfare." 
The  slogan  of  the  organization  is  **For  God,  for 
Country,  for  Home." 

182 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

The  plan  of  work,  in  general  outline,  as  originally 
stated,  is  to  develop  a  clearing  house  of  information 
regarding  women's  organizations;  second,  to  coordi- 
nate the  work  of  women's  organizations  and  to  develop 
the  resources  of  women  through  a  standardized,  na- 
tionalized, program  of  activities ;  third,  to  recommend 
to  the  proper  governmental  agency:  (a)  a  registry  of 
the  woman  power  of  America;  (b)  a  woman's  bureau 
under  the  Federal  Government  to  deal  with  woman's 
work  and  woman's  welfare. 

The  standardized  program  of  activity  for  coordi- 
nating the  work  and  developing  the  resources  of  the 
women  of  America  is  as  follows : 

The  responsibilties  and  interests  of  women  are 
divided  into  thirteen  national  divisions,  as  follows: 
Social  and  Welfare,  Home  Economics,  Agricultural, 
Industrial,  Medical  and  Nursing,  Motor  Driving,  Gen- 
eral Service,  Health,  Civics,  Signalling,  Map-reading, 
Wireless  and  Telegraphy,  and  Camping.  Definite 
work  under  these  thirteen  national  divisions  is  de- 
veloped through  state  and  local  organizations,  the 
working  unit  being  a  detachment  of  not  less  than 
ten  nor  over  thirty  under  the  direction  of  a  detach- 
ment commander. 

The  basis  of  training  for  all  detachments  is  stand- 
ardized, physical  drill.  Under  each  national  division 
definite  requirements  are  outlined.  The  plan  pro- 
vides for  annual  inspection  of  detachments  and  an- 
nual examinations  of  individuals,  on  the  basis  of 
which  detachments  and  members  are  continued  or 
discontinued ;  for  promotion  on  a  basis  of  service  and 
efficiency;  for  annual  state  or  district  encampments; 
for  an  organization  uniform  to  be  worn  on  stated 

183 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

occasions ;  for  an  organization  badge  and  insignia ;  for 
a  pledge  of  allegiance  to  be  signed  by  all  members; 
and  that  members  must  be  over  sixteen  years  of  age 
and  American  citizens. 

The  plan  also  provides  that  any  already  existing 
organization  may  organize  within  its  own  member- 
ship detachments  of  the  National  League  for  Wo- 
man 's  Service  without  giving  up  its  work  or  losing  its 
own  identity. 

To  develop  this  plan  of  organization  would  have 
required  at  least  six  months.  Five  days  after  the 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service  came  into  ex- 
istence, the  nation  was  confronted  with  a  crisis  in  its 
affairs  with  Germany  and  the  possibility  of  an  im- 
mediate emergency.  It  was  then  that  the  leaders  of 
the  National  League  for  Woman's  Service  displayed 
their  real  genius  for  organization  and  expressed  their 
patriotism  in  the  immediate  announcement  of  an 
emergency  program  which  has  since  been  developed 
and  which  is  the  working  basis  for  the  very  complete 
and  efficient  organizations  which  the  League  has  in 
nearly  every  state  in  the  Union. 

The  emergency  program  was  developed  to  provide 
for  the  immediate  organization  of  the  available  re- 
sources of  women  for  service,  fitness  for  service  being 
determined  upon  the  basis  of  training  and  expe- 
rience. 

The  first  step  in  the  development  of  the  emergency 
plan  of  organization  was  the  appointment  by  the  Na- 
tional Executive  Committee  of  a  temporary  state 
chairman  in  every  state.  These  temporary  chairmen 
were  asked  to  appoint  temporary  state  committees, 
consisting  of  at  least  one  vice-chairman,  a  secretary,  a 

184 


THE  WOMAN^S  COMMITTEE 

treasurer,  and  as  many  other  members  as  might  seem 
desirable.  The  National  Executive  Committee  sug- 
gested that  temporary  local  chairmen  be  appointed  at 
the  earliest  possible  date  in  every  city,  town  or  dis- 
trict throughout  the  state.  Much  was  left  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  state  chairman  and  the  state  commit- 
tee in  the  promotion  of  the  organization  in  each  state. 
So  rapidly  was  this  plan  developed  that  within  an  in- 
credibly short  time  the  national  headquarters  had  re- 
ceived information  that  there  were  complete  working 
organizations  in  thirty-nine  states  while  the  other 
nine  were  in  process  of  organization. 

It  would  be  difficult  indeed  to  say  which  branch 
of  the  National  League  for  Woman's  Service  has 
done  most  efficient  work  or  has  made  a  larger  con- 
tribution to  the  national  war  program.  But  undoubt- 
edly the  Bureau  of  Registration  and  Information, 
which  has  been  maintained  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war  in  Washington,  has  rendered  a  service  to  the 
Government  and  to  thousands  of  women  the  value  of 
which  cannot  be  estimated. 

The  first  service  which,  this  Bureau  set  out  to 
render  was  concerned  with  the  mobilization  of  wage- 
earning  women  to  meet  the  demands  for  trained 
woman  labor  in  the  government  establishments  and  in 
privately  owned  factories  and  mills  engaged  upon 
emergency  orders  for  army  and  navy  supplies.  The 
principle  and  method  of  the  Bureau's  procedure  was 
first  submitted  for  approval  to  the  Secretary  of 
Labor.  The  plan  received  his  endorsement  and  the 
work  has  been  conducted  in  close  cooperation  with  the 
Labor  Department's  employment  offices  throughout 
the  country. 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  work  involved  in  carrying  out  the  plans  for 
this  Bureau  was  tremendous.  To  do  this  work  the 
Bureau  had  first  to  secure  from  the  War  and  Navy 
Departments,  and  from  other  appropriate  sources, 
accurate,  current  and  comprehensive  information 
concerning : 

(1)  What  orders  the  Government  was  placing 
with  private  concerns  and  with  its  own  factories 
and  arsenals;  (2)  which  of  these  orders  involved 
woman  labor,  skilled  and  unskilled  as  an  impor- 
tant factor;  (3)  the  status  of  the  woman  labor 
supply  in  the  establishments  filling  such  orders;  (4) 
the  factory  and  mill  trained  woman  labor  reserve  in 
the  vicinity  of  these  establishments  which  could  be 
mobilized  under  a  call  for  paid  but  patriotic  service 
in  case  of  a  shortage  in  the  mills  and  in  the  near  by 
factories;  (5)  other  near  by  places  from  which  in- 
dustrial recruits  can  be  secured  in  case  there  is  a 
shortage  of  trained  woman  labor  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  establishments  filling  Government  war 
orders. 

The  Bureau  was  able  to  get  the  War  and  Navy 
contracts  as  they  were  let;  the  necessary  informa- 
tion as  to  the  supply  of  trained  woman  labor  to  com- 
plete these  contracts  was  obtained,  and  through  local 
committees  of  its  scores  of  cooperating  organizations, 
the  Bureau  worked  registering  women  for  service  and 
sending  them  direct  to  the  establishments  needing 
help.  The  value  of  such  a  work  to  the  Government, 
to  the  firms  holding  government  contracts  and  to  the 
women  workers  must  be  at  once  apparent.  The  Na- 
tional League  for  Woman's  Service  has  worked  intel- 
ligently in  many  directions,  but  had  it  confined  its 

186 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

efforts  to  the  Registration  Bureau  alone  it  would  be 
entitled  to  the  highest  commendation. 

It  was  after  the  League  had  begun  a  general  regis- 
tration of  the  woman  power  of  the  country  that  the 
Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense undertook  such  a  registration,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  avoiding  confusion  the  National  League  for 
Woman's  Service  called  its  registration  *' Enroll- 
ment" instead  of  "Registration." 

The  "Follow-Up"  system  employed  by  the  League 
proved  most  effective.  By  this  system  every  volun- 
teer enrolled  for  service  was  brought  into  an  organ- 
ization and  especially  prepared  for  the  service  which 
she  had  volunteered.  The  keynote  of  instruction 
sent  out  from  the  national  headquarters  is  "Service 
must  never  be  sacrificed  to  organization;  but  too 
frequently  service  is  sacrificed  because  of  lack  of  or- 
ganization." 

The  National  League  for  Woman's  Service  cooper- 
ated in  a  most  interesting  demonstration  in  food  con- 
servation in  New  York  City  made  by  the  Mayor's 
Committee,  the  Woman's  University  Club,  the  Boy 
Scouts  and  other  organizations.  All  food  coming 
into  New  York  City  is  inspected  at  the  docks.  The 
custom  has  been  to  condemn  a  crate  of  fruit  or  vege- 
tables if  only  a  small  portion  of  the  contents  was  unfit 
for  use,  and  to  throw  away  the  entire  crate.  Now 
every  barrel  or  crate  which  is  not  passed  by  the  in- 
spectors is  turned  over  to  the  Mayor's  Committee. 
The  contents  are  sorted  and  all  that  is  fit  for  use  is 
either  sold  or  canned  at  the  demonstration  kitchen. 

In  Schenectady,  New  York,  the  League  secured  the 
use  of  a  smaU  moving-picture  theater  a  part  of  which 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

is  equipped  with  a  kitchen  where  canning  and  cook- 
ing classes  were  held  and  demonstrations  and  lectures 
given  with  lantern  slide  illustrations.  In  Virginia 
the  League  pledged  30,000  cans  of  fruit  and  vege- 
tables to  be  delivered  for  the  soldiers  by  October  1, 
1917. 

A  very  important  feature  of  the  work  of  the  League 
is  the  social  club  work  for  soldiers  and  sailors  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country.  A  notice  regarding  the 
club  in  New  York  City  is  posted  on  all  of  the  trans- 
ports of  the  Atlantic  Fleet.  To  attend  one  of  the 
social  evenings  at  the  New  York  City  club  a  party  of 
sailors  who  were  without  means  walked  from  the 
Navy  Yard  in  Brookljni  to  the  League's  Club  at  39th 
Street  and  back  again,  the  round  trip  being  over 
twelve  miles. 

The  father  of  one  of  the  boys  came  with  him  to  the 
club  and  spent  an  evening.  The  following  day  he 
wrote  to  the  League  as  follows:  *'I  want  to  express 
my  sincere  appreciation  of  what  you  are  doing  for 
the  boys  of  the  army  and  the  navy,  and  I  would  be 
glad  to  have  a  small  part  in  this  work.  I  enclose  my 
check  for  $100.'' 


CHAPTER  XV 
PERI^IANENT  ORGANIZATION 

How  the  great  permanent  organizations  of  women 
turned  to  war  work — General  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs,  Daughters  of  American  Revolution,  Colonial 
Dames,  United  Daughters  of  Confederacy,  Council  of 
Jewish  Women,  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  Navy  League,  Congress 
of  Mothers,  etc. 

The  declaration  of  war  in  the  United  States  found 
the  women  of  America  thoroughly  organized  and 
each  of  the  great  women's  organizations  immediately 
offered  its  services  to  assist  in  the  prosecution  of  war. 

The  General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  with  a 
membership  of  approximately  3,000,000,  and  com- 
plete working  organizations  in  every  state  in  the 
Union,  formed  one  of  the  largest  and  strongest  of  the 
women's  war  machines,  and  was  one  of  the  first  or- 
ganizations to  offer  its  services  to  the  Government. 
The  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  had  already  been 
doing  a  valuable  work  in  studying  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  and  other  branches  of  the  Government 
as  they  are  of  interest  to  women.  The  survey  made 
by  the  special  committee  from  the  Federation  in- 
cluded the  following  subjects:  To  what  extent  will 
the  Smith-Lever  Bill  benefit  the  women  on  the  farms  ? 
Who  are  entitled  to  its  benefits,  and  what  do  they 
have  to  do  to  secure  this  aid?    Wliat  are  the  objects 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

of  the  Bureau  of  Markets?  How  far  does  Federal 
inspection  safeguard  our  meat  supplies?  What  does 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  do  to  insure  safe 
milk  ?  Is  this  work  carried  on  in  this  Department,  or 
by  the  public  health  service?  What  work  is  done  in 
the  Office  of  Home  Economics? 

The  committee  that  was  sent  to  Washington  to  an- 
swer these  and  questions  of  like  character  was  com- 
posed of:  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Claypool  Earl  (Mrs. 
Horace  Mann),  Harriet  C.  Towner  (Mrs.  Benjamin 
W.),  Anna  L.  Corkran,  Miss  Helen  Louise  Johnson, 
Chairman. 

The  Government  Departments  represent  a  vast 
storehouse  of  practical,  scientific,  authoritative  ma- 
terial along  the  lines  of  work  represented  in  the 
General  Federation,  as  defined  by  Mrs.  May  Alden 
Ward :  '  *  To  use  our  united  strength  to  obtain  better 
homes,  better  schools,  better  surroundings,  better  citi- 
zenship, and  better  laws;  to  work  together  for  civic 
health  and  civic  righteousness,  to  preserve  our  herit- 
age, the  forests  and  the  natural  beauties  of  the  land, 
to  procure  for  our  children  an  education  which  fits 
them  for  life,  the  training  of  the  hand  and  the  heart, 
as  well  as  the  head;  to  prevent  the  children  not  our 
own  being  deprived  of  their  birthright  of  natural 
childhood,  to  obtain  right  conditions  and  proper  safe- 
guards for  the  women  who  toil. ' ' 

The  committee  reported  on  the  Children's  Bureau, 
the  Public  Health  Service,  Government  Publications 
and  the  work  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in- 
cluding the  Office  of  Information,  the  States'  Rela- 
tions Service,  the  Department  of  Home  Economics, 
Bureau  of  Markets,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  Fed- 

190 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

eral  Meat  Inspection,  Bureau  of  Chemistry  and  the 
Smith-Lever  Bill. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  having  made  this  survey  and 
digested  the  report  of  the  committee  the  General  Fed- 
eration of  Women's  Clubs  was  quite  ready  to  take  up 
any  duties  in  connection  with  the  war  that  the  gov- 
ernment might  see  fit  to  assign  to  them.  Sometime 
before  the  organization  of  the  Woman's  Committee 
the  General  Federation,  realizing  the  need  of  a  reg- 
ister of  its  women,  had  begun  a  systematic  registra- 
tion among  its  own  members.  When  the  official  reg- 
istration was  undertaken  by  the  Woman's  Committee, 
as  described  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  Federation 
stopped  its  registration  and  assisted  in  that  under- 
taken by  the  Woman's  Committee. 

In  October,  1917,  the  Federated  Clubs  opened  a 
Service  Office  in  Washington,  to  be  maintained  dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  war,  and  also  moved  the  editorial 
offices  of  the  Federated  Clubs  Magazine  to  Washing- 
ton so  that  the  National  organization  might  keep  in 
close  touch  with  national  affairs  at  Washington  and 
disseminate  among  its  members  such  information  as 
might  be  helpful  to  them  in  their  war  work.  The 
Service  Office  is  in  charge  of  Miss  Helen  Louise  John- 
son and  is  located  in  the  Maryland  Building. 

Another  great  organization  of  women  that  early 
offered  its  services  to  the  Government  was  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  with  its  3,000 
chapters  and  1,000,000  members  spread  over  the 
whole  of  the  United  States.  In  order  to  carry  on  its 
war  work  more  efficiently  the  National  Society  formed 
a  War  Relief  Service  Committee  composed  of:  chair- 
man, Mrs.  Matthew  T.  Scott,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  vice- 

191 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

chairman,  Mrs.  Albert  S.  Burleson,  Washington,  D. 
C. ;  director  of  publicity,  Mrs.  William  H.  Wait,  Ann 
Arbor,  Michigan;  secretary,  Mrs.  Howard  L.  Hodg- 
kins,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  directors :  Mrs.  James  Ben- 
ton Grant,  Denver,  Colorado;  Mrs.  Fred  H.  H.  Cal- 
houn, Clemson  College,  South  Carolina;  Mrs.  Frank 
D.  Ellison,  Belmont,  Massachusetts;  Mrs.  Thomas  A. 
Edison,  Orange,  New  Jersey;  Mrs.  James  Lowry 
Smith,  Amarillo,  Texas;  Mrs.  Frank  Wm.  Bagnsen, 
Rock  Island,  Illinois. 

From  the  very  day  war  was  declared  the  Daugh- 
ters of  the  American  Revolution,  through  its  War  Re- 
lief Committee  as  well  as  through  the  individual 
chapters,  has  done  practical  war  work  of  various 
kinds.  The  president-general,  Mrs.  George  Thacher 
Guernsey,  has  given  a  great  deal  of  her  time  to  war 
work,  and  the  success  of  every  plan  undertaken  by  the 
organization  is  largely  due  to  Mrs.  Guernsey's  well- 
known  efficiency  and  to  the  cordial  and  nation-wide 
cooperation  she  has  had  from  her  associates.  The 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  were  signally 
successful  in  selling  Liberty  Bonds,  a  branch  of  war 
work  in  which  they  have  taken  an  especial  interest. 
Secretary  McAdoo  appointed  Mrs.  Guernsey  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Committee,  and  she 
has  been  untiring  in  her  efforts  in  the  interest  of  the 
sale  of  Liberty  Bonds. 

The  plans  decided  upon  by  the  War  Relief  Service 
Committee  at  its  meeting  on  June  21,  1917,  comprised 
four  branches  of  usefulness,  all  of  which  eliminate 
the  danger  of  misdirected  energy  and  bear  the  stamp 
of  government  approval.  These  are :  knitting  neces- 
sary garments  for  sailors  on  United   States  vessels 

192 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

named  for  Revolutionary  heroes;  clipping  bureau  by 
means  of  which  sailors  will  be  supplied  with  maga- 
zines and  news  articles ;  preparing  jellies  to  be  stored 
for  hospitals;  the  adoption  of  French  orphans.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  endorsed  the  making  of  knitted 
garments  for  sailors,  and  commanders  of  vessels  pa- 
trolling the  coast  have  sent  an  urgent  plea  for  a 
large  supply  to  outfit  the  sailors  during  the  first  win- 
ter of  the  war.  The  Navy  League  published  espe- 
cially for  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution 
a  pamphlet  containing  the  biography  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary heroes  for  whom  United  States  destroyers  have 
been  named,  a  description  of  the  vessels,  and  the  num- 
ber of  the  crew  manning  each  vessel.  Perhaps  the 
most  interesting  phase  of  war  work  undertaken  by 
the  organization  is  the  adoption  of  French  orphans. 
Thirty-six  dollars  and  fifty  cents  is  the  sum  required 
to  support  a  child  for  one  year.  The  names  and  ad- 
dresses of  French  orphans  may  be  secured  by  appli- 
cation to  Mrs.  Matthew  T.  Scott,  chairman  of  the 
War  Relief  Service  Committee,  Memorial  Continen- 
tal Hall,  Washington,  D.  C. 

One  service  rendered  the  Government  by  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  is  deserving 
of  especial  notice.  The  Council  of  National  Defense 
needed  a  large  tract  of  land  centrally  located  in 
Washington  upon  which  to  erect  its  temporary  head- 
quarters. None  was  available.  Hearing  of  this  situ- 
ation Mrs.  Guernsey  got  in  touch  with  her  national 
board  immediately  and  the  handsome  property  ad- 
joining that  upon  which  stands  the  splendid  IMemorial 
Continental  Hall  was  offered  to  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional  Defense.    The   offer  was   promptly   accepted 

193 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

and  in  exactly  fifty  days  the  spacious  temporary 
building  was  ready  for  occupancy. 

Perhaps  no  national  organization  of  women  has 
been  privileged  to  render  to  the  Government  in  its 
time  of  greatest  need  a  more  beautiful  service  than 
has  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association.  As 
soon  as  the  country  faced  the  possibility  of  an  ac- 
tive part  in  the  European  war,  the  National  Board 
of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  recognized  its  immense  responsibil- 
ity in  helping  to  safeguard  moral  conditions  in  the 
neighborhood  of  training  camps  and  providing  for  the 
welfare  of  women  in  special  industries  created  by  the 
war's  demands.  The  organization  also  received  re- 
quests for  help  in  the  constructive  work  the  associa- 
tions were  undertaking  in  Russia,  France  and  Eng- 
land. To  meet  the  new  situation  a  War  Work  Coun- 
cil was  formed,  which  aims  to  use  the  resources  of  the 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  in  helping  especially  to  meet  the  needs 
which  the  war  has  brought  to  girls  and  women  and 
which  in  many  cases  are  very  acute.  The  chairman 
of  the  War  Work  Council  is  Mrs.  James  S.  Cushman, 
the  other  officers  being,  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  John  R. 
Mott  and  Mrs.  John  Meigs ;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Henry  P. 
Davidson;  secretary  pro  tem.,  Mrs.  Howard  Morse. 
Others  serving  as  chairmen  of  committees  are  Mrs. 
E.  R.  L.  Gould,  Mrs.  Francis  De  Lacy  Hyde,  Mrs. 
Robert  Lovett  and  Mrs.  Robert  E.  Speer. 

The  Patriotic  League  promoted  by  the  Junior  War 
Work  Council  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  is  described  as 
*'an  idea  and  an  ideal."  Girls  of  every  race  and 
creed  are  eligible  on  the  signing  of  the  following 
pledge:  "I  pledge  to  express  my  patriotism:  by  do- 
ing better  than  ever  before  whatever  work  I  have  to 

194 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

do;  by  rendering  whatever  special  service  I  can  at 
this  time  to  my  community  and  country;  by  living 
up  to  the  highest  standards  of  character  and  honor; 
and  by  helping  others  to  do  the  same." 

The  problem  of  girl  workers  is  one  with  which  the 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  is  well  fitted  to  wrestle,  as  they  have  had 
an  industrial  department  for  a  number  of  years.  In 
some  of  the  factories,  as  for  example  at  the  clothing 
factory  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  the  women  work  in  shifts 
of  ten  hours  each  in  buildings  that  have  not  been 
equipped  for  their  comfort.  This  factory  is  next 
door  to  the  navy  yard,  and  the  commandant  has 
worked  in  sympathy  with  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  officers, 
who  have  sought  to  provide  better  housing  for  the 
women,  and  have  furnished  them  with  a  recreation 
house  where  women  may  meet  their  men  friends  un- 
der proper  conditions. 

The  cafeteria  is  an  institution  which  the  Y.  W.  C. 
A.  has  used  and  developed  in  a  most  useful  man- 
ner, and  their  experience  is  being  applied  in  war 
work. 

In  response  to  the  requests  of  the  commandants 
and  the  Federal  Commission  on  Training  Camp  Ac- 
tivities fourteen  hostess  houses  have  been  established 
and  four  more  are  under  way.  These  form  a  social 
center  for  relatives  who  come  to  visit  the  men  in  the 
camp.  Sometimes  the  houses  are  inside  the  grounds, 
as  at  Plattsburg,  and  sometimes  they  are  outside,  ac- 
cording to  conditions.  A  tent  was  opened  for  *' hos- 
pitality service"  at  Camp  Mills,  L.  I.  This  not  only 
provides  for  temporary  needs,  but  enables  the  work- 
ers to  study  the  situation  and  decide  how  many 
houses  will  be  needed. 

195 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Some  of  the  smaller  houses  have  been  put  up  at  a 
cost  of  $500;  those  at  the  larger  cantonments  will 
cost  from  $15,000  to  $20,000.  The  one  at  Ayer, 
Mass.,  is  about  three  times  the  size  of  the  one  that 
was  used  in  Plattsburg.  In  addition  to  affording  a 
meeting  place  for  the  men  and  their  families  and 
friends,  there  is  a  check  room,  secretary's  office,  rest 
room  for  women,  small  nursery  for  children,  and  a 
kitchen  and  arrangements  for  serving  light  refresh- 
ments. 

Some  of  the  camps  are  so  far  from  the  towns  that 
women  who  have  come  from  a  distance  would  be 
greatly  inconvenienced  if  there  was  no  such  place  to 
give  them  information,  refreshment  and  help.  For 
the  camps  where  the  distance  is  greatest,  as  in  New 
Mexico,  it  may  be  found  necessary  .to  provide  places 
where  the  women  may  stay  over  night. 

Search  is  being  made  for  suitable  persons  for  the 
foreign  work  which  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  is  undertaking. 
Two  women  have  already  gone  to  Russia,  two  others 
are  on  their  way  and  five  others  will  soon  follow. 
The  work  in  Russia  is  largely  an  industrial  problem. 
Wages  are  high,  but  the  purchasing  power  of  the 
money  is  less.  Food  is  scarce  and  high.  Miss 
Clarissa  H.  Spencer,  for  the  last  three  years  acting 
secretary  executive  for  the  Foreign  Department  of 
the  National  Board,  is  a  linguist  and  a  woman  of 
experience  in  several  foreign  countries.  With  her 
went  Miss  Elizabeth  Boies,  a  graduate  of  Smith  Col- 
lege, who  acted  as  hostess  and  adviser  to  thousands 
of  girls  in  the  amusement  and  refreshment  concession 
at  the  Panama  Exposition  in  San  Francisco.  When 
the  American  troops  were  sent  to  the  Mexican  border, 

196 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

Miss  Boies  was  sent  to  investigate  tlie  work  for  girls 
in  Texas  and  Arizona. 

In  France,  Y.  W.  C.  A.  workers  have  responded  to 
the  need  for  help  in  the  housing,  long  hours  and  other 
industrial  conditions  that  have  come  up  with  the 
war.  Mary  A.  Dingman  is  carrying  to  France  the 
experience  of  industrial  members  in  the  American 
associations.  Visitation  of  factories,  organization  of 
clubs  and  councils  have  been  efficient  means  for 
American  cooperation.  Investigation  and  experi- 
ment will  show  how  the  women  of  France  who  are 
working  in  munition  factories  and  other  unusual  em- 
ployments can  better  their  conditions,  and  one  young 
woman  will  look  after  the  interests  of  the  nurses  near 
each  American  base  hospital. 

As  one  of  the  eighteen  national  temperance  organi- 
zations comprising  the  United  Committee  on  Temper- 
ance Activities  in  the  Army  and  Navy,  of  which  Miss 
Anna  A.  Gordon  is  vice-chairman,  the  W.  C.  T.  U. 
has  been  assigned  the  work  of  providing  sixteen 
stereo-motorgraphs,  one  for  each  of  the  army  can- 
tonments. This  is  its  share  of  the  $100,000  fund  un- 
dertaken by  the  Committee.  Among  the  slides  which 
these  machines  automatically  display  are  cartoons  and 
patriotic  posters  covering  different  phases  of  the 
liquor  question  in  its  relation  to  the  individual  as  a 
man  and  a  soldier.  The  cost  of  the  machines  is  $500 
each  and  they  are  purchased  by  state  W.  C.  T.  U. 
organizations.  Two  white-ribbon  ambulances  have 
been  presented  to  the  Red  Cross,  one  for  service  in 
France,  the  other  in  Russia.  Systematic  effort  is 
being  made  to  find  homes  in  American  families  foi; 
orphaned  French  and  Belgian  children. 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  W.  C.  T.  U.,  both  as  a  national  organization 
and  through  its  individual  members,  has  subscribed 
generously  to  the  Liberty  Loan.  Its  national  presi- 
dent, Miss  Anna  A.  Gordon,  is  a  member  of  the  ad- 
visory committee  of  the  Woman's  Liberty  Loan  Com- 
mittee. 

State  and  local  organizations  responded  enthusi- 
astically to  the  call  of  the  National  W.  C.  T.  U.  to 
patriotic  service  under  the  following  ten  divisions: 
Nation-wide  Prohibition  as  a  War  Measure,  Soldiers 
and  Sailors,  Relief  Work,  Moral  Education,  Women 
in  Industry,  Americanization,  Cooperation  with  the 
United  Committee  on  Temperance  Activities  in  the 
Army  and  Navy,  Community  Interest,  Finance  and 
Membership. 

The  400,000  white-ribboners  of  the  country  are  co- 
operating through  various  departments  with  the  war 
emergency  plans  put  out  by  the  government.  This 
world  war  is  emphasizing  the  fact,  as  other  events 
have  emphasized  it  in  lesser  degree,  that  the  W.  C. 
T.  U.  is  equipped  for  any  emergency.  Its  ^'do  every- 
thing'^  machinery  never  stops.  The  engineers  need 
only  turn  on  a  little  extra  power,  to  set  the  wheels 
whirling  and  the  pistons  pounding  with  a  speed 
and  efficiency  that  is  the  wonder  and  envy  of  or- 
ganizations whose  scope  is  necessarily  more  limi- 
ted. 

The  Committee  on  Patriotic  Service  of  the  Na- 
tional W.  C.  T.  U.  consists  of  the  general  officers  and 
the  superintendents  of  departments.  These  are: 
president,  Anna  A.  Gordon;  vice-president-at-large, 
Ella  B.  Boole;  corresponding  secretary,  Frances  P. 
Parks;  recording  secretary,  Elizabeth  P.  Anderson; 

198 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

assistant  recording  secretary,  Sara  H.  Hoge;  treas- 
urer, Margaret  C.  Munns;  superintendent  of  legisla- 
tion, Margaret  Dye  Ellis;  superintendent  of  soldiers 
and  sailors,  Ella  Hoover  Thacher;  superintendent 
Flower  Mission  and  Relief,  Leila  M.  Sewall ;  superin- 
tendent of  moral  education,  Mary  E.  Brown ;  superin- 
tendent of  temperance  and  labor,  Lucia  F.  Additon; 
superintendent  of  foreign-speaking  people,  Ella  B. 
Black. 

In  April,  1917,  the  National  Congress  of  Mothers 
inaugurated  the  movement  to  enlist  mothers  for  serv- 
ice in  the  vicinity  of  army  and  navy  camps  to  extend 
as  far  as  possible  the  home  influence  to  the  boys  who 
are  there. 

The  Mothers  Army  and  Navy  Camp  Committee  of 
the  National  Congress  of  IMothers  was  organized,  and 
the  work  immediately  begun  to  arrange  for  the  com- 
fort of  the  enlisted  men  when  off  duty  and  visiting 
the  near  by  towns.  The  Congress  of  Mothers  has 
established  United  Service  Clubs  under  the  manage- 
ment of  leaders  in  the  Congress,  and  is  arranging  for 
comfortable  lodgings,  recreation  rooms  and  reading 
and  writing  rooms,  having  mothers  in  the  building  to 
welcome  and  personally  interest  themselves  in  these 
boys.  In  Philadelphia  the  largest  Club  has  been  es- 
tablished. In  the  month  of  October,  1917,  over  six 
thousand  enlisted  men  enjoyed  the  Club  House. 
There  are  accommodations  for  three  hundred  men  to 
sleep  in  the  building.  From  one  to  two  thousand 
boys  every  month  avail  themselves  of  this  privilege. 
Arrangement  also  for  the  mothers  who  wish  to  visit 
their  boys  is  made  by  a  Mothers'  Annex.  The 
mothers  of  enlisted  men  in  the  city  are  being  enter- 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tained  weekly,  and  organized  for  the  mother  work 
that  only  mothers  can  do. 

A  similar  club  has  been  opened  in  Baltimore  for 
the  use  of  the  men  in  the  camps  in  that  vicinity. 
Waukegan,  Illinois,  has  established  one.  Mrs.  Kate 
Waller  Barrett  was  appointed  chairman  to  organize 
the  Camp  Committees  in  connection  with  all  of  the 
cantonments,  and  has  visited  all  of  the  camps  in 
the  southern  states  with  this  in  view.  The  national 
president,  Mrs.  Schoff,  has  also  visited  many  of 
these  camps,  and  clubs  for  enlisted  men  are  be- 
ing established  in  the  vicinity  of  all  of  the  can- 
tonments. 

''We  are  not  doing  work  in  the  camps,"  says  Mrs. 
Schoff.  * '  Our  work  is  the  work  of  extending  welcome 
and  providing  a  clean,  wholesome,  happy  place  for 
the  boys  who,  by  hundreds,  are  given  leave  of  ab- 
sence. Our  belief  is  that  if  we  organize  the  forces 
of  good  we  shall  do  more  to  counteract  the  effort  of 
the  evil  women  who  are  organized  to  tempt  to  vice, 
than  can  be  done  in  any  other  way.  We  recommend 
to  the  members  of  Parent-Teacher  Associations  the 
following  as  war  measures: 

**  Frequent  meetings  of  Parent-Teacher  Associa- 
tions through  the  summer  as  well  as  when  schools 
are  in  session. 

' '  Taking  a  census  of  children  in  homes  from  which 
members  are  enlisted  in  military  service. 

''Providing  when  possible  a  Director  of  Children's 
Activities  and  Amusements,  and  enlisting  all  chil- 
dren in  activities  or  occupations  suitable  to  their  age 
and  interest. 

"Providing  a  committee  of  women  qualified  to 
200 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

help  erring  children  by  personal  influence  and 
friendly  help  when  called  on  for  this  service. 

*' Encouraging  and  aiding  children  in  home  garden 
work. 

**  Encouraging  and  aiding  children  in  habits  of 
thrift,  in  showing  girls  and  mothers  how  they  may 
utilize  old  garments  in  making  many  useful  articles. 

''Aiding  mothers  by  showing  how  to  provide 
nourishing  diet  for  their  families  when  so  many  of 
the  usual  articles  of  food  must  be  eliminated,  owing 
to  their  prohibitive  prices. 

''Providing  wholesome  entertainment  for  youth. 

*' Encouraging  patriotism  and  loyalty  to  the  high 
principles  of  democracy,  and  inculcating  a  spirit  of 
personal  responsibility  as  a  citizen  in  the  hearts  of 
parents  and  children. 

"Providing  opportunities  for  non-English  speak- 
ing mothers  to  learn  English  and  other  things  that 
aid  them  in  understanding  American  life  and  cus- 
toms, and  making  good  citizens  and  inducing  them 
to  make  use  of  these  opportunities. 

"Holding  frequent  and  regular  meetings  for 
mothers  of  little  babies  where  the  babies  may  be  ex- 
amined by  physicians  or  nurses  and  the  mothers  ad- 
vised as  to  their  care. 

"Keeping  the  school  building  open  for  such  ser\nce 
as  the  community  may  require  during  the  War. ' ' 

The  New  Jersey  Congress  of  Mothers  has  presented 
an  ambulance  as  its  service  in  the  war,  and  is  cooper- 
ating with  other  organizations  in  the  work  to  make 
the  soldiers  happier  who  are  in  the  camps  in  New 
Jersey. 

The  National  Congress  of  Mothers  is  mobilizing  all 
201 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

of  the  mothers  of  enlisted  men  for  this  special  service 
and  is  meeting  with  a  very  cordial  response. 

The  Navy  League  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  Spanish- 
American  war  and  was  organized  in  New  York  in 
1902.  It  was  soon  after  the  organization  was  per- 
fected that  Miss  Poe,  a  newspaper  woman  of  New 
York,  and  her  sister,  asked  permission  to  form  auxili- 
aries, which  was  granted  to  them,  and  thus  the 
Woman's  Section  of  the  Navy  League  came  into  ex- 
istence. The  women  have  assisted  in  the  various 
phases  of  work  undertaken  by  the  Navy  League  but 
have  centered  their  interests  largely  in  knitting  gar- 
ments for  the  soldiers,  and  in  working  in  the  camps. 
When  war  was  declared  their  work  in  all  lines  was 
intensified  and  extended  and,  inspired  by  the  new 
and  larger  duty,  they  set  about  to  increase  their 
membership  and  their  usefulness. 

The  Comforts  Committee  of  the  Navy  League, 
which  has  done  so  many  things  for  the  men  on  the 
battleships,  originated  with  a  sewing  party  at  the 
residence  of  Mrs.  James  Carroll  Frazer,  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  in  IMarch  of  1917.  Only  twelve  women 
were  present  at  this  little  sewing  party  but  the  seed 
of  a  great  work  had  been  sown,  and  very  soon  after 
that  the  Comforts  Committee  of  the  Navy  League  was 
organized  with  Mrs.  Frazer  as  chairman.  Since 
that  date  over  $500,000  has  been  furnished  and 
more  than  300,000  women  have  worked  in  the  interest 
of  the  organization.  Garments  have  been  furnished 
to  the  Army  and  Merchant  Marine  as  well  as  to  the 
Navy.  This  Committee  equipped  the  first  destroy- 
ers, and  furnished  two  thousand  seven  hundred 
sweaters  to  the  first  marines  who  went  abroad — and 

202 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

this  in  ten  days  after  they  received  the  order.  Wool 
has  been  furnished  to  women  who  intend  returning 
the  finished  garments  to  the  Committee  at  sixty-five 
cents  per  hank,  and  to  others  at  one  dollar  per  hank. 
The  Committee  has  a  very  efficient  office  system,  all 
material  being  indexed  as  it  is  received  and  con- 
signed. It  is  estimated  that  the  amount  spent  in  the 
work  of  this  Committee  approximates  $1,000,000. 
The  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  Colonial 
Dames,  and  other  large  national  organizations  of 
women,  have  cooperated  in  the  work. 

The  second  encampment  of  the  National  Service 
School  of  the  Woman's  Section  of  the  Navy  League 
was  held  at  Little  Falls  and  Conduit  Road,  near  the 
District  (of  Columbia)  line,  during  the  month  of 
April  and  May,  1917.  The  main  object  of  the  school 
was  to  give  an  opportunity  to  American  women  to 
acquire  special  training  to  be  of  national  service  dur- 
ing war.  The  classes  included  home  care  of  the  sick, 
first  aid,  dietetics,  preparation  of  sick  diets,  signal 
work,  wireless,  scientific  bed  making,  the  making  of 
surgical  dressings,  and  other  ways  in  which  women 
can  be  of  real  service. 

The  National  Service  School  in  the  nation's  cap- 
ital— the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  world — ^has  inspired 
the  opening  of  similar  schools  throughout  the  coun- 
try where  American  women  can  fit  themselves  for  the 
part  they  must  play  in  the  national  service  of  good 
citizenship  and  patriotism.  A  popular  feature  of  the 
National  Service  School  was  the  afternoon  lectures 
by  noted  men  and  women,  experts  in  the  topics  dis- 
cussed. 

In  December,  1917,  the  Woman's  Naval  Auxiliary 
203 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

to  the  Red  Cross  was  organized  and  much  of  the  work 
that  was  being  done  under  the  Navy  League  was  co- 
ordinated under  the  new  plan.  The  Advisory  Com- 
mittee of  the  Woman's  Naval  Auxiliary  to  the  Red 
Cross  consists  of :  Mrs.  Edward  T.  Stotesbury,  Chair- 
man, Philadelphia;  Mrs.  J.  Ogden  Armor,  Illinois; 
Mrs.  Walter  B.  Brooks,  Jr.,  Maryland;  Mrs.  George 
Barnett,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Mrs.  Frederick  Courtiss, 
Chicago;  Mrs.  George  Dewey,  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Mrs.  George  K.  Denis,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. ;  Mrs.  Charles 
Dana  Gibson,  New  York ;  Mrs.  Cary  T.  Grayson,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C;  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Hamlin,  Washington, 

D.  C. ;  Mrs.  Bryan  Lathrop,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Mrs. 

E.  T.  Meredith,  Des  Moines,  Iowa;  Mrs.  Henry  Mor- 
ganthau.  New  York;  Mrs.  Henry  R.  Eea,  Sewickly, 
Pa.;  Mrs.  Matthew  T.  Scott,  Washington,  D.  C;  Mrs. 
James  M.  Thompson,  New  Orleans,  La. ;  Mrs.  French 
Vanderbilt,  Newport,  R.  I.;  Mrs.  Otto  Wittpen,  Ho- 
boken,  N.  J. ;  Mrs.  John  Holiday,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

The  League  of  American  Pen  Women  numbers 
among  its  members  some  of  the  best  known  women 
writers  of  America.  It  is  one  of  the  great  permanent 
organizations  of  women  that  immediately  upon  the 
declaration  of  war  turned  its  full  power  to  war  work. 
Through  its  National  Aid  and  Defense  Committee  the 
organization  has  accomplished  much.  ''The  chief 
part  that  the  League  of  American  Pen  Women  must 
play  to  help  win  the  war  is  one  of  education,"  said 
Mrs.  Isaac  Pearson,  president  of  the  League.  Head- 
quarters of  the  organization  are  in  Washington,  and 
the  officers  are:  president,  Mrs.  Margaret  E.  Pear- 
son, 1785  Lanier  Place,  N.  W. ;  first  vice-president, 
Mrs.  Theodore  Tiller,  1355  Montague  Street;  second 

204 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

vice-president,  Mrs.  Helen  Nelson  Doocy,  143  Thir- 
teenth St.,  N.  E.;  recording  secretary,  Miss  Dora 
Simpkins,  2811  Central  Ave.,  Woodridge,  D.  C. ;  cor- 
responding secretary,  Mrs.  Gertrude  Buckingham 
Thomas,  1231  Girard  Street,  N.  W. ;  assistant  corre- 
sponding secretary.  Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Hyde,  2947 
Tilden  St.,  N.  W.;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Mary  St.  Clair 
Blackburn,  3313  Seventeenth  St.,  N.  W. ;  auditor, 
Mrs.  Philander  P.  Claxton,  1719  Lamont  St.,  N.  W. ; 
librarian,  Mrs.  Emma  M.  V.  Triepel,  2516  Seventeenth 
St.,  N.  W. ;  historian,  Mrs.  Virginia  King  Frye,  301  S 
Street,  N.  E.  The  officers  of  the  National  Aid  and 
Defense  Committee  of  the  League  are:  chairman, 
Mrs.  Richard  L.  Hoxie,  1632  K  St.,  Washington,  D. 
C. ;  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  Anna  Bogenholm  Sloane,  800 
Madison  St.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  vice-chairman  for 
Pacific  Coast,  Mrs.  Bertha  Lincoln  Heustis,  418  S. 
Normandie  Ave.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

The  Camp  Fire  Girls  of  America,  100,000  strong, 
have  been  doing  effective  work  for  their  country  since 
war  was  declared.  On  April  19,  seventeen  days  after 
the  declaration  of  war.  President  Wilson  wrote  to  Dr. 
Luther  H.  Gulick,  the  national  president,  as  follows: 
**I  have  read  with  close  attention  and  very  great 
interest  your  telegram  of  April  seventeenth  and  want 
to  say  that  it  seems  to  me  to  embody  an  admirable 
program.  I  hope  that  it  will  be  carried  out  by  the 
Camp  Fire  Girls,  and  I  admire  very  much  the  spirit 
in  which  it  has  been  conceived." 

The  Camp  Fire  Girls  were  very  helpful  in  bringing 
the  food  pledge  cards  to  the  attention  of  the  house- 
wives of  America.  The  girls  divided  up  the  territory 
and  went  from  house  to  house,  well  equipped  to  talk 

205 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

with  the  women  as  to  the  best  ways  and  means  of 
carrying  out  Mr.  Hoover's  instructions.  At  the 
request  of  Miss  Julia  Lathrop  of  the  Children's  Bu- 
reau the  girls  were  also  very  helpful  in  caring  for 
children  while  their  mothers  were  engaged  in  garden- 
ing or  other  patriotic  service.  A  large  number  of 
the  Camp  Fire  Guardians  have  taken  regular  Red 
Cross  courses  and  thousands  are  cooperating  in  local 
units  with  Red  Cross  Societies  in  all  branches  of 
their  work.  They  are  running  errands,  picking 
oakum,  rolling  bandages,  making  surgical  dressings, 
taking  courses  in  nursing,  dietetics,  etc.,  and  giving 
demonstrations  in  parades  or  Red  Cross  work. 
Thousands  have  had  gardens  in  their  own  homes  and 
many  others  are  giving  voluntary  service  to  charitable 
institutions. 

In  a  letter  to  the  girls  of  America  the  national 
president,  Mr.  Luther  H.  Gulick,  said:  *'Most  of  the 
homes  of  America  have  girls  in  them.  Fifty  per 
cent  of  the  money  paid  for  food  is  wasted  in  America. 
We  waste  as  much  of  the  fats  as  we  use.  We  pare 
our  potatoes  and  so  lose  much  of  the  nutritive  por- 
tion. Girls  can  save  much  of  this  waste.  Saving 
one  cent  a  day  per  person  would  be  10,000,000  dimes, 
$1,000,000,  or  $365,000,000  in  one  year.  Girls  use 
enough  candy,  sodas  and  chewing  gum  to  support 
20,000  soldiers." 

The  Girl  Scouts  of  America,  under  the  leadership 
of  Mrs.  Juliette  Low,  of  New  York,  with  a  nation- 
wide organization  and  a  fine  spirit  of  patriot- 
ism, have  given  greatly  needed  assistance  along  many 
lines.  They  have  sold  Liberty  Bonds,  distributed 
food  pledge  cards  and  have  volunteered  their  services 

206 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

and  worked  cheerfully,  singly  and  in  groups,  in  every 
state  in  the  Union.  They  have  made  scrapbooks  for 
the  hospitals  and  especially  have  they  contributed 
most  generously  in  furnishing  Christmas  cheer  to  the 
soldiers  in  the  camps  here  and  in  Europe.  In  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  especially,  the  Girl  Scouts  have  initiated 
many  novel  and  practical  ways  of  doing  war  work. 
Under  direction  of  Mrs.  Edna  M.  Colman,  field  secre- 
tary, the  girls  made  hundreds  of  comfort  bags  and  at 
Christmas  time  they  sent  attractive  packages  to  sol- 
diers encamped  at  Camp  Meade. 

Ever  since  war  was  declared,  Woodcraft  Girls  have 
been  hard  at  work  doing  their  bit.  Aside  from  the 
special  work  started  by  Headquarters  there  has  been 
no  lack  of  spontaneous  effort  on  the  part  of  the  girls 
and  their  guides.  Knitting  and  Red  Cross  dressings 
have  had  such  a  prominent  part  at  the  meetings  and 
through  the  week  that  the  girls  in  some  instances  have 
sacrificed  time  that  would  have  otherwise  been  de- 
voted to  the  acquiring  of  the  much-coveted  Wood- 
craft honors  known  as  coups  and  degrees.  To  give 
some  recognition  to  this  form  of  patriotic  service,  the 
Girls'  Work  Committee  has  been  asked  by  some  of 
the  guides  to  recommend  the  adoption  of  new  honors 
suitable  for  war  time. 

The  distinctive  work  for  Woodcraft  Girls,  however, 
has  been  found  in  the  Potato  Clubs  formed  by  the 
Woodcraft  League.  Membership  was  not  restricted 
to  members  of  the  organization  and  to  those  under 
eighteen  it  was  free.  Girls — and  boys  too — in  thirty- 
five  states  enrolled  as  ''Potatriots"  to  the  number  of 
more  than  2,100.  Some  formed  clubs,  others  worked 
alone  to  win  the  silk  American  Flags  offered  as  prizes, 

207 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

one  for  the  largest  crop  raised  from  twenty-four  hills, 
and  one  for  the  largest  potato. 

One  energetic  club  was  composed  by  the  Wood- 
craft Girls  at  Rosemary  Hall,  a  school  at  Greenwich, 
Conn.  These  girls  were  fortunate  in  securing  some 
land  lent  for  the  purpose  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ernest 
Thompson-Seton.  The  girls  not  only  did  the  planting 
but  the  much  harder  work  of  plowing,  and  they  gave 
their  free  time  to  do  it.  When  the  summer  came  and 
many  of  the  girls  were  scattered  over  the  country, 
they  arranged  to  have  girls  who  lived  near  By  care  for 
the  plants  until  their  return,  thus  showing  skill  in  or- 
ganizing as  well  as  in  farming.  Their  work  was  well 
rewarded  by  the  fine  crop  they  harvested  this  fall. 

The  club  of  Monmouth  County,  New  Jersey,  under 
the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Philip  Lewisohn,  closed  the  sea- 
son with  a  fine  record,  not  only  for  raising  potatoes 
and  other  vegetables,  but  also  for  canning.  Mrs. 
Schoenfeld,  chairman  of  the  cannery,  reports  that 
$1600  was  cleared.  The  club  published  a  pamphlet  of 
recipes  and  used  a  Woodcraft  label  on  its  canned 
goods. 

The  League  has  as  its  slogan  '*The  Hoe  Behind 
the  Flag,"  which  appeared  not  only  on  the  club  but- 
ton but  was  used  by  other  organizations  throughout 
the  country  to  arouse  enthusiasm  for  work  on  the 
farm. 

The  Green  Bough  is  an  international  fellowship  of 
children  to  afford  aid  and  relief  to  one  another — 
especially  from  the  happy,  well-fed  children  of  Amer- 
ica to  the  starving  children  of  war-stricken  Europe. 
Individual  children  may  become  members  by  send- 
ing ten  cents  to  the  central  organization,  for  which 

208 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

a  button  will  be  sent  and  by  agreeing  to  make  some 
contribution  to  the  welfare  of  children  less  fortunate 
than  themselves.  The  honorary  chairman  is  Mrs. 
Stephen  Millet,  and  the  national  headquarters  are 
119  East  19th  Street,  New  York  City. 

The  Green  Bough  is  affiliated  with  the  International 
Child  Welfare  League,  which  is  another  of  the  great 
permanent  organizations  that  has  only  had  to  intensify 
the  great  work  it  was  already  doing  to  be  one  of 
America's  most  effective  machines  for  work  valuable 
in  the  prosecution  of  war. 

No  organization  is  doing  a  more  valuable  work  in  a 
specialized  field  than  the  Associate  Collegiate  Alum- 
nse.  This  organization  held  its  general  convention 
in  Washington  three  days  after  war  was  declared 
and  a  War  Service  Committee  was  appointed.  By 
resolution  the  services  of  the  organization  were  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Government.  It  is  to  the 
credit  of  the  Associate  Collegiate  Alumnae  that  it  was 
one  of  the  first  organizations  to  agitate  for  the  cor- 
rection of  conditions  about  the  training  camps  on  the 
Mexican  Border.  Through  its  efforts  a  large  num- 
ber of  petitions  were  secured  from  women's  organi- 
zations, and  the  Associate  Collegiate  Alumnse  re- 
ceived personal  expressions  of  appreciation  directly 
from  the  President  and  from  the  Secretary  of 
War. 

The  organization  issued  to  10,000  college  gradu- 
ates a  statement  concerning  the  demand  for  trained 
stenographers  and  secretaries  and  has  also  made  vigor- 
ous efforts  to  induce  college  women  to  enter  the  nurs- 
ing profession  to  meet  the  increased  demands  in  that 
field.    In  addition  to  this  practical  work  a  large  num- 

209 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ber  of  the  100  branches  of  the  organization  are  sup- 
porting one  or  more  French  war  orphans. 

A  very  interesting  plan  has  been  launched  through 
the  War  Service  Committee,  which  consists  of  Presi- 
dent Thomas,  of  Bryn  Mawr;  President  Pendleton, 
of  Wellesley;  President  Woolley,  of  Mt.  Holyoke; 
Mrs.  Lois  K.  Mathews,  Dean  of  Women,  University 
of  Wisconsin,  president  of  the  Association;  Miss 
Caroline  L.  Humphrey,  former  president ;  Mrs.  Ray- 
mond B.  Morgan,  president  of  the  Washington 
Branch,  and  Mrs.  Gertrude  S.  Martin,  executive  sec- 
retary. The  plan  will  concentrate  the  efforts  of  the 
whole  association  upon  patriotic  education.  A  Speak- 
ers' Bureau  will  cooperate  directly  with  the  Speakers* 
Division  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Information. 
The  purpose  is  to  carry  into  the  remotest  regions  of 
the  country  the  message  of  the  necessity  for  this  war 
and  the  peril  of  a  premature  peace.  Conferences  of 
college  women  have  been  called  in  many  states  and 
speakers  are  provided  with  such  information  as  may 
be  available.  Eminent  men  and  women  will  also  be 
brought  from  abroad  to  present  the  point  of  view  of 
our  allies  to  the  school,  colleges  and  normal  schools 
of  this  country.  The  plan  is  an  ambitious  one  and 
is  deserving  of  the  heartiest  commendation. 

The  Colonial  Dames,  under  the  able  leadership  of 
Mrs.  Joseph  R.  Lamar,  of  Georgia,  who  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense,  have  been  actively  engaged  in  some 
form  of  constructive  war  work  since  the  beginning  of 
hostilities  and  are  planning  still  more  ambitious  work 
for  the  immediate  future. 

The  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  first 
210 


THE  WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE 

under  the  presidency  of  Mrs.  Cordelia  D.  Odenheimer, 
of  Washington,  and  later  under  Miss  Poppenheim,  of 
South  Carolina,  have  worked  in  various  fields  in  every 
state  where  they  are  organized.  The  chapters  in  the 
various  states  have  undertaken  many  novel  kinds  of 
work  with  great  success  and  plans  for  the  future  call 
for  an  expansion  of  present  activities. 

A  complete  account  of  what  the  various  women's  or- 
ganizations are  doing  to  help  in  the  prosecution  of  war 
would  not  be  possible.  There  is  not  a  single  organi- 
zation, from  the  largest  to  the  smallest,  that  is  not 
doing  its  utmost.  However,  no  mention  of  the  work 
of  the  women's  organizations  of  America  would  be  just 
that  did  not  include  something  of  America's  greatest 
organization,  The  National  Council  of  Women,  which 
includes  practically  all  of  the  organizations  of  women 
in  this  country.  Mrs.  Philip  N.  Moore,  of  St.  Louis, 
is  president  of  the  National  Council  of  W^omen  and 
among  its  officers  are  some  of  the  most  prominent 
women  in  the  country. 

Through  the  many  strong  organizations  composing 
it  the  Council  is  sharing  in  the  great  task  that  con- 
fronts the  women  of  America  and  at  the  national  meet- 
ing in  December,  1917,  resolutions  were  adopted  which 
set  forth  the  Council's  active  interest  in  all  of  the 
great  movements  that  tend  toward  making  the  world 
better  and  spreading  the  gospel  of  the  sisterhood  of 
women. 


PART  TWO 
STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 


CHAPTER  XVI 

ALABAMA,  ARKANSAS,  AND  ARIZONA 

Alabama  Women  quickly  perfect  organization  in  every 
county — Work  financed  by  voluntary  contributions — 
First  activity  was  distribution  of  President's  war  mes- 
sage to  men  who  enlisted — Governor  proclaims 
Woman's  Registration  Day — Women's  work  in  Arkan- 
sas and  Arizona — Alaska  furnishes  inspiration  to  her 
sister  states. 

In  directing  the  organization  of  the  women 
throughout  the  country  from  its  headquarters  in 
Washington,  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense  has  never  dictated,  but  has  con- 
fined itself  to  outlining  a  general  plan  and  making 
such  suggestions  as  seemed  practicable.  For  this 
reason  the  story  of  women's  war  work  in  the  vari- 
ous states  is  filled  with  interest.  The  leaders  in 
these  states  have  initiated  many  novel  plans  and  de- 
veloped many  new  and  valuable  ideas.  Emphasis 
has  been  placed  where  it  was  most  needed,  and  always 
local  conditions  have  been  carefully  considered.  In 
the  rich  agricultural  states  work  in  the  early  months 
of  war  was  centered  on  the  production  and  the  con- 
servation of  food ;  in  the  states  in  which  the  large  in- 
dustrial plants  are  located,  the  problems  arising  con- 
cerning women  in  industry  were  given  most  atten- 
tion; but  in  every  state  the  women  worked  inde- 

215 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

fatigably  in  the  interest  of  Mr.  Hoover's  campaign, 
the  sale  of  Liberty  Bonds  and  in  Registration. 

Where  reports  from  some  of  the  states  seem  meager 
it  does  not  in  any  sense  mean  that  the  women  have 
not  worked  bravely,  individually  and  through  their 
organizations.  It  generally  means  that  local  condi- 
tions prevented  a  complete  organization  in  the  first 
month  or  two  of  the  war.  This  was  especially  true 
in  the  states  where  the  weather  was  extremely  hot 
and  where  many  of  the  women  were  away  from  their 
homes.  In  the  larger  cities  the  organizations  were 
perfected  more  quickly,  but  the  women  of  the  smaller 
towns  in  every  state  have  rendered  valuable  service. 

Alabama.  The  women  of  Alabama,  under  the  able 
chairmanship  of  Mrs.  James  Fullerton  Hooper,  of 
Selma,  within  a  few  months  after  they  were  ap- 
pointed, had  perfected  organizations  in  nearly  one 
hundred  cities  and  towns  and  in  ninety-eight  coun- 
ties. This  was  the  more  remarkable  because  the  work 
was  inaugurated  and  carried  on  through  voluntary 
contributions. 

The  Alabama  branch  of  the  Woman's  Committee 
of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  cooperates  with 
the  State  Council  of  Defense  through  Mrs.  Hooper, 
who  was  appointed  by  the  Governor  as  a  member  of  the 
State  Coordination  Committee.  Alabama  furnishes 
a  shining  example  of  coordination. 

Mrs.  Hooper  has  worked  unceasingly  since  war  was 
declared,  and  the  story  of  the  work  of  the  women  of 
her  state  is  best  told  by  her.  She  says:  **When  the 
tocsin  of  war  was  sounded,  all  good  citizens  of  Ala- 
bama, male  and  female,  answered  'Here'  to  the  roll 
call  of  patriots.     The  women  both  in  action  and  speech 

216 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

testified  that  the  love  and  devotion,  the  service  and 
sacrifice,  the  patience  and  patriotism  of  the  women 
of  this  generation  was  no  whit  behind  that  of  the 
women  of  the  sixties. 

**At  the  request  of  Dr.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  the 
state  organizations  united  in  forming  the  Council  of 
National  Defense,  and  since  that  time  every  depart- 
ment has  been  formulating  plans  to  meet  successfully 
the  demands  of  the  hour.  As  an  organized  body  the 
first  activity  was  the  distribution  of  the  President's 
war  message  to  the  men  as  they  enlisted  for  war 
service,  which  was  done  through  committees  placed 
at  each  polling  place. 

* '  The  second  call  was  from  Mr.  Hoover  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Conservation  Pledge  Cards.  Al- 
though our  women  as  club  women  had  signed  the 
Economy  Card  sent  out  by  the  General  Federation, 
as  good  soldiers  they  undertook  the  second  campaign 
with  spirit  and  enthusiasm.  In  cities,  a  house  to 
house  canvass  was  made,  and  in  some  cities  commit- 
tees stood  in  the  vestibules  of  the  churches  on  the 
Sabbath  Day  in  order  to  reach  those  whom  they  failed 
to  find  at  home:  the  rural  districts  were  canvassed 
by  the  use  of  automobiles,  and  in  localities  where  we 
had  no  units  or  clubs  the  distribution  was  made 
through  the  local  postmasters  or  mistresses,  to  whom 
we  owe  much  praise.  The  campaign  was  inaugurated 
by  short  addresses  by  prominent  men,  at  picture 
theaters.  Agriculture  has  been  emphasized  by  lec- 
tures, demonstrations,  and  home  gardening.  It  would 
do  the  heart  of  the  national  chairman  good  to  know 
how  obedient  many  have  been,  even  to  sacrificing 
beautiful  lawns  for  luxuriant  field  peas.     The  work  of 

217 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

agriculture  has  been  carried  on  in  a  most  systematic 
way.  Home,  school  and  community  gardens  were  en- 
couraged, prizes  were  offered  for  the  best  specimens 
and  collections  both  in  the  white  and  negro  schools, 
and  hundreds  of  plants  and  packages  of  seeds  were 
distributed  among  the  negroes,  who  have  shown  un- 
usual interest  and  patriotism.  The  President  of  the 
Colored  Women's  Federation  of  Clubs  has  been  most 
helpful  in  the  work  and  has  shown  a  beautiful  spirit 
of  loyalty  and  cooperation. 

*' Registration  was  a  unique  experience  with  us,  but 
we  boldly  attempted  it,  and  considering  the  fact  that 
women  are  innately  opposed  to  *  signing  up,*  we  did 
well.  The  Governor  kindly  proclaimed  a  special  day 
for  the  registration  of  women  for  service,  and  well 
trained  registrars  were  in  charge  of  registration  places 
located  in  different  parts  of  the  cities  and  counties. 
Already  we  are  realizing  results  from  the  work,  for 
our  business  men  make  use  of  these  cards  to  find 
bookkeepers,  stenographers,  etc. 

*'The  club  women  as  club  women  are  doing  a  great 
work  along  health  lines.  Having  become  auxiliary 
to  the  Southern  Medical  Association  they  have  em- 
phasized the  Health  Department,  and  a  number  of 
clubs  banded  together  and  equipped  a  Field  Hospital 
in  France.  A  second  group  immediately  began  rais- 
ing the  funds  necessary  to  equip  another  hospital. 

*'The  Council  of  Defense  is  composed  of  all  or- 
ganizations, and  the  president  of  each  is  chairman 
of  a  department ;  while  each  chairman  plans  the  work 
that  naturally  falls  to  her,  all  organizations  unite  to 
make  it  a  success,  for  with  unity  of  hearts  and  unity 
of  hand  we  are  undertaking  the  great  task  that  is 

218 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

before  us.  In  times  of  danger  and  disaster  women 
have  never  failed,  and  they  will  not  falter  nor  fail 
now,  in  this  their  nation's  greatest  need." 

Serving  with  Mrs.  Hooper  are  the  following  of- 
ficers: vice-chairmen,  Mrs.  Thomas  M.  Owen,  Mont- 
gomery; Mrs.  Ehett  Goode,  Mobile;  secretary,  Mrs. 
J.  B.  Parke,  Selma;  treasurer,  Mrs.  William  Gayle, 
Montgomery. 

Arkansas.  *' Arkansas  women  are  wide  awake  and 
eager  to  do  all  that  is  expected  of  them,"  says  the 
honorary  state  chairman,  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Brough, 
Little  Rock.  **We  are  going  to  do  our  part  in  win- 
ning this  war  and  victory  must  come."  Arkansas  is 
organized  through  townships  and  school  districts. 
Organization  was  perfected  soon  after  the  call  was 
received  from  Washington,  and  by  July  16,  fifteen 
out  of  the  seventy-five  counties  were  fully  organized 
and  were  hard  at  work.  As  there  is  no  state  appro- 
priation for  defense  work  the  Committee  met  its 
financial  obligations  by  voluntary  contributions  from 
patriotic  individuals  and  from  clubs.  The  officers  of 
the  division  meet  regularly  every  Tuesday  morning 
and  discuss  ways  and  means  of  working  out  the  vari- 
ous problems  that  arise.  Mrs.  Brough,  the  honorary 
state  chairman,  is  also  state  chairman  for  the  Liberty 
Loan  Committee.  The  majority  of  the  counties  are 
well  organized.  Arkansas  did  splendid  work  in  sale 
of  the  Liberty  Loan  bonds  under  the  chairmanship 
of  Mrs.  Brough.  Liberty  Loan  chairmen  for  the  va- 
rious districts  are:  Mrs.  Harry  Williams,  Jones- 
boro;  Mrs.  Bruce  Massingill,  Heber  Springs;  Mrs.  Al- 
len G.  Flowers,  Fayetteville ;  Mrs.  Scab  Holt,  Fort 
Smith;  Mrs.  J.  W.  House,  Little  Rock;  Mrs.  T.  0. 

219 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Drennan,    Hot    Springs;    Mrs.    Dougald    McMillan, 
Arkadelphia.     Officers  of  the  Arkansas  Division  of 
the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National 
Defense  are :  chairman,  Mrs.  Jo  Frauenthal,  Conway 
vice-chairman,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Andrews,  Harrison;  secre 
tary,   Mrs.  Minnie  Rutherford-Fuller,  Little   Rock 
treasurer.  Miss  Mary  Honora  McCabe,  Little  Rock, 
Heads     of     departments     are:     Registration,     Mrs 
Schoenfeldt,    Little    Rock;    Food    Production,    Mrs 
Byrd  Tatum,  Morrillton ;  Child  Welfare,  Mrs.  G.  W 
Garrison,  Little  Rock;  Maintenance  of  Existing  So 
cial  Agencies,  Mrs.  Frank  Peel,  Bentonville;  Educa 
tion,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Brough,  Little  Rock;  Liberty  Loan 
Mrs.  E.  0.  Ellington,  Little  Rock;  Health  and  Recre 
ation,  Mrs.  Markwell,  Little  Rock. 

Arizona.  Although  Arizona  was  one  of  the  states 
in  which  local  conditions  rendered  early  organization 
difficult,  the  women  of  that  state  have  accomplished 
much,  and  the  state  is  organized  along  very  practical 
lines.  The  conditions  in  the  mountain  districts  re- 
tarded the  work  of  organisation  during  the  first 
months  of  war,  but  through  their  clubs  and  indi- 
vidually the  women  have  worked  industriously  along 
all  lines  that  have  been  suggested  to  them  from 
Washington.  The  state  was  organized  by  townships 
and  school  districts.  There  are  twenty-five  members 
of  the  Woman's  Committee  which  works  along  the 
same  lines  as  the  Men's  Committee.  The  State  De- 
fense Council  finances  the  work  of  the  Woman's 
Committee  and  provides  for  it  as  a  part  of  its  own 
organization.  Mrs.  Pauline  O'Neill,  chairman  of  the 
Woman's  Committee,  is  also  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Defense  and  is  a  member  of  the  executive  com- 

220 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

mittee  of  that  body.  All  of  the  leading  women's  or- 
ganizations of  the  state  are  cooperating  in  the  state 
defense  work,  coordinating  their  efforts  under  the 
Federated  Clubs.  These  include  the  W.  C.  T.  U., 
Mother's  Congress,  D.  A.  R.,  Collegiate  Alumnae, 
Eastern  Star,  Pythian  Sisters,  State  Federation  of 
Musical  Clubs,  Council  of  Jewish  Women,  Woman's 
Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Young  Ladies'  Mutual  Improvement  Society, 
etc. 

The  officers  of  the  Arizona  Woman's  Committee  of 
the  Council  of  National  Defense  are:  chairman,  Mrs. 
E.  B.  O'Neill,  Phoenix;  heads  of  departments:  Child 
Welfare,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Norton,  Phoenix;  Liberty  Loan, 
Alice  Birdsall,  Phoenix;  Home  and  Foreign  Relief, 
Mrs.  Gordon  Tweed,  Phoenix ;  Health  and  Recreation, 
Mrs.  I.  Lachance,  Phoenix. 

Alaska.  It  should  be  very  inspiring  to  the  women 
of  the  older  states  to  know  of  the  splendid  spirit  of 
patriotism  evident  among  the  women  of  Alaska. 
Immediately  following  the  Declaration  of  War,  and 
the  President's  letter  to  the  governors  of  states,  sug- 
gesting the  enlistment  of  women  in  war  service,  Mrs. 
J.  F.  A.  Strong,  wife  of  the  governor,  sent  out  a  call 
for  the  organization  of  an  Alaska  Woman's  Patriotic 
League.  The  founders'  chapter  was  established  at 
Juneau,  the  capital  city,  with  Mrs.  Strong  as  presi- 
dent. Active  cooperation  was  given  by  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  and  Mrs.  Cornelia  Tem- 
pleton  Hatcher,  territorial  president,  organized  the 
Patriotic  League  in  all  the  principal  towns.  The  plan 
of  work  included  a  monthly  meeting  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  food  conservation  and  other  problems  inci- 

221 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

dent  to  the  war.  When  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  was  created, 
Mrs.  T.  J.  Donahoe  of  Valdez,  president  of  the  Fed- 
erated Clubs,  was  appointed  territorial  representative 
of  the  Committee,  and  the  general  outline  of  work  fur- 
nished the  states  from  the  National  Capital  was  fol- 
lowed in  so  far  as  it  was  applicable.  The  registration 
of  women  for  war  service  was  undertaken  by  the  Pa- 
triotic League,  all  the  other  women's  organizations  co- 
operating. The  League  has  also  endowed  an  Alaskan 
bed  in  the  ward  maintained  by  the  Department  of  the 
Interior  in  the  American  Hospital  at  Neuilly,  France. 

The  adoption  of  French  war  orphans  has  been  the 
special  work  of  the  territorial  W.  C.  T.  U.,  in  addition 
to  its  usual  contributions  through  the  Department  of 
Work  among  Soldiers  and  Sailors. 

Every  town  has  a  Red  Cross  Chapter  or  auxiliary 
and  has  contributed  generously  in  both  funds  and 
supplies. 

Mrs.  Donohoe  pays  this  tribute  to  the  men  and 
women  of  her  territory : 

''There  is  no  state  in  the  Union  more  loyal  to  our 
Government,  and  no  people  more  ready  to  sacrifice 
lives  and  possessions  in  its  defense.  The  awakening 
to  the  actuality  of  the  war  in  which  we  are  engaged 
has  come  slowly  owing  to  the  great  distance  interven- 
ing, but  once  awake,  the  call  to  arms  will  find  a  ready 
response. ' ' 


CHAPTER  XVII 
CALIFORNIA,  COLORADO,  AND  CONNECTICUT 

Heads  of  all  women's  organizations  form  California's 
Central  Committee — Cooperate  with  national  and  state 
defense  work — Women  share  in  $100,000  defense  fund 
— Colorado's  organization  unique — Women  have  equal 
representation  on  State  Council — Connecticut  fur- 
nishes example  of  perfect  coordination  and  cooperation 
— State  Chairman  gives  story  of  work. 

California.  A  Committee  was  organized  at  the 
request  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  National 
Council  of  Defense,  and  at  the  time  of  its  organiza- 
tion was  made  a  part  of  the  State  Council  of  De- 
fense. The  Committee  shares  the  headquarters  of 
the  State  Council  of  Defense  both  in  Los  Angeles  and 
San  Francisco,  and  the  office  expenses  are  borne  by  a 
monthly  appropriation  made  to  the  Committee  from 
the  funds  of  the  State  Council  of  Defense. 

The  Central  Committee  is  made  up  of  heads  of  all 
the  State  organizations  of  women  which  have  offered 
cooperation  with  the  national  and  state  defense  work. 

The  first  meeting  for  organization  was  held  in  San 
Francisco  when  an  Executive  Committee  was  elected. 
For  convenience  and  efficiency  several  members  have 
been  elected  to  the  Executive  Committee  since  that 
date. 

The  first  work  of  the  Committee  was  the  organiza- 
223 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tion  of  the  state  with  the  counties  as  units.  The  or- 
ganization of  the  counties  was  conducted  on  the  same 
plan  as  that  followed  in  the  organization  of  the  state. 
Some  woman  in  each  county  was  asked  to  act  as 
temporary  chairman  to  call  together  representatives 
from  each  organization  of  women  in  the  county,  from 
which  representation  the  permanent  officers  for  the 
county  were  elected.  It  was  left  to  the  counties 
themselves  to  choose  the  details  of  their  organizations. 

Most  of  the  counties  have  a  chairman,  a  vice-chair- 
man, a  secretary  and  treasurer.  Some  of  the  coun- 
ties are  organized  by  supervisorial  districts  with  a 
chairman  in  each,  or  by  incorporated  towns  with  a 
chairman  in  each  town,  or  by  artificial  districts. 
There  is  now  an  organization  in  every  county  of  the 
state. 

The  work  of  organizing  a  large  state  like  California 
is  a  considerable  accomplishment  in  itself.  It  was 
the  important  first  step  to  get  the  machinery  ready 
for  the  carrying  out  of  plans  made  by  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  the  National  Council  of  Defense  or  by 
the  State  Council  of  Defense. 

The  first  thing  that  the  Committee  was  asked  to 
do  was  to  help  in  the  campaign  for  the  Liberty  Loan 
bonds.  A  chairman  for  northern  California  and  one 
for  southern  California  were  appointed,  who  did 
remarkably  efficient  work  in  their  respective  sections. 
The  chairman  of  the  Men's  Committee  for  the  Liberty 
Bond  campaign  said  that  after  the  Women's  Com- 
mittee got  to  work  a  fifty  per  cent,  increase  was  notice- 
able in  the  sale  of  the  bonds. 

The  principal  work  of  the  Women's  Committee  in 
the  beginning  was  to  spread  the  doctrine  of  food 

224 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

conservation.  To  do  this  it  was  necessary  to  mobilize 
a  vast  army  of  housewives,  and  in  order  to  accom- 
plish this  mobilization  much  education  was  neces- 
sary. This  has  been  along  lines  of  the  need  for  con- 
servation and  suggestions  for  ways  of  economizing 
and  eliminating  waste.  Copies  of  the  Hoover  Food 
Pledges  have  been  circulated  throughout  the  state 
through  the  chairmen  of  the  County  Committees. 
This  has  been  followed  by  education  in  the  scientific 
methods  of  canning,  drying  and  preserving  food  given 
by  demonstrators  from  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, University  of  California.  By  fall  thirty  coun- 
ties of  the  state  had  been  covered  by  food  demon- 
strators, and  itineraries  had  been  planned  for  demon- 
strators in  the  remaining  counties  of  the  state. 

Communication  is  kept  up  between  the  executive 
committee  and  the  county  chairman  by  circular  let- 
ters which  set  forth  plans  for  work  and  give  sugges- 
tions and  directions  for  household  economy  and  ma- 
terial for  publicity.  Plans  made  for  the  establish- 
ment of  housekeepers'  institutes  by  the  head  of  the 
Home  Economics  Department  of  the  University  of 
California  were  sent  to  each  county.  Cooperation 
has  been  established  between  this  Committee  and  the 
State  Library  and  through  it  with  the  County  Li- 
braries all  over  the  state.  There  are  being  prepared 
bibliographies  of  all  periodicals  and  magazines  deal- 
ing with  the  question  of  food  conservation  and  women 
in  industry,  and  from  time  to  time  such  other  prob- 
lems as  are  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Committee. 

The  Committee  made  an  investigation  into  the  sup- 
ply of  labor  throughout  southern  California  and 
made  a  report  of  its  findings  to  the  farm  labor  com- 

225 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

mittee  of  the  University  of  California.  It  has  also 
pointed  out  to  the  county  chairman  the  necessity  for 
vigilance  in  maintaining  a  standard  of  vrages  and 
conditions  for  women,  who  on  account  of  the  read- 
justment that  will  be  necessitated  for  the  drafting  of 
men  into  the  army  will  be  forced  into  industry.  The 
Committee  has  also  in  mind  the  maintenance  of  ex- 
isting social  agencies  and  educational  standards. 
Through  the  experts  from  the  different  state  com- 
missions and  boards,  the  Committee  receives  plans 
and  suggestions  along  the  line  of  Americanization, 
industrial  conditions,  public  health  and  child  wel- 
fare. 

Meetings  of  the  executive  committee  are  held  once 
a  week  in  Los  Angeles,  and  similar  meetings  are  held 
by  the  northern  members  in  San  Francisco.  A  meet- 
ing of  the  southern  members  of  the  Central  Commit- 
tee is  held  once  a  month  in  Los  Angeles,  and  of  the 
northern  members  once  a  month  in  San  Francisco. 
It  is  the  plan  in  the  future  to  have  occasional  meet- 
ings of  the  whole  membership  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee and  of  the  Central  Committee. 

There  is  close  cooperation  between  the  State  De- 
fense Council  and  the  Woman's  Committee.  Four 
members  of  the  latter  are  on  sub-committees  of  the 
State  Council.  There  is  an  appropriation  of  $100,- 
000  by  the  legislature  for  state  defense  work  and 
headquarters  are  provided  for  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee by  the  State  Council  in  San  Francisco.  A 
special  grant  is  also  made  by  the  State  Council  for 
printing  and  distributing  food  pledges,  stationery 
and  office  supplies.  Headquarters  in  Los  Angeles 
were  donated  by  Mr.  E.  T.  Earl. 

226 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  Woman's  Committee  of  California  consists  of: 
honorary  chairman,  Mrs.  Frank  Gibson;  chairman, 
Mrs.  Herbert  A.  Cable ;  member  State  Council  of  De- 
fense, Mrs.  Kobert  0.  Moody;  vice-chairman,  Mrs. 
Stella  B.  Irvine;  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  Edward  F. 
Glaser;  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  Shelley  Tolhurst;  mem- 
ber State  Council  of  Defense,  Miss  Ethel  Moore; 
member  State  Council  of  Defense,  Mrs.  Seward  A. 
Simons;  secretary,  Mrs.  Cleveland  Forbes;  assistant 
secretary,  Mrs.  Frances  M.  Carlton  Harmon;  Mrs. 
Herbert  A.  Cable,  California  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs;  Mrs.  C.  C.  Clay,  Daughters  of  the  Confeder- 
acy; Miss  Ora  B.  Chilton,  Home  Economics  Associa- 
tion; Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Door,  Northern,  Women's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union;  Mrs.  Lawrence  Draper, 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association;  Mrs.  Stella 
B.  Irvine,  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union; 
Mrs.  John  C.  Lynch,  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution;  Mrs.  Robert  ,0.  Moody,  California 
Civic  League;  Dr.  Jessie  A.  Russell,  Congress  of 
Mothers  and  Parent-Teachers  Association ;  Miss  Grace 
Stoermer,  Native  Daughters  of  the  Golden  West; 
Miss  Electa  Van  Eman,  California  Nurses'  Associa- 
tion; Mrs.  Carrie  L.  Hoyt,  Woman's  Relief  Corps; 
Mrs.  Duncan  McDuffie,  National  League  for  Women's 
Service;  Mrs.  Willoughby  Rodman,  Belgian  Relief 
Committee;  Mrs.  F.  C.  Turner,  Association  Collegiate 
Alumnae;  Dr.  Adelaide  Brown,  State  Board  of 
Health ;  Mrs.  Carrie  P.  Bryant,  State  Board  of  Chari- 
ties; Mrs.  Katherine  P.  Edson,  State  Industrial  Wel- 
fare Commission;  Mrs.  Frank  A.  Gibson,  State  Im- 
migration and  Housing  Commission;  Mrs.  Margaret 
Schallenberger  McNaught,  State  Board  of  Education; 

227 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Mrs.   Frances  M.   Carlton  Harmon,    State   Library- 
Board. 

Colorado,  The  organization  of  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee in  Colorado  is  somewhat  different  from  that 
of  the  other  states.  The  Governor  divided  the  de- 
fense work  of  the  state  into  two  sections,  the  War 
Council,  a  body  of  men,  and  the  Woman's  Advisory- 
Council,  a  body  of  women.  The  two  bodies  work  in 
close  cooperation  and  because  they  stand  side  by  side 
and  are  given  equal  power  to  initiate  and  carry  for- 
ward their  plans,  much  has  been  accomplished. 

The  Woman's  Advisory  Council  to  the  Governor 
of  Colorado  consists  of  a  chairman,  vice-chairman, 
treasurer,  two  secretaries,  an  auditor,  an  executive 
committee  and  seventeen  departments.  These  are  all 
appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  departments  are 
as  follows:  Organization;  Finance;  Registration; 
Home  Relief;  Foreign  Relief;  Production,  Conserva- 
tion and  Thrift;  Women  in  Industry;  Education — 
(a)  Literature,  (b)  Current  Events  concerning 
women's  war  work;  Child  Welfare;  Maintenance  of 
Existing  Social  Agencies  (settlements,  philanthropies, 
day  nurseries,  hospitals,  general  social  service,  etc.) ; 
Courses  of  Instruction  (organization  of  training 
classes  in  work  for  which  the  state  furnishes  a  de- 
mand) ;  Safeguarding  of  Moral  and  Spiritual  Forces; 
Liberty  Loan;  Publicity;  Legislation;  Cooperation; 
Speakers'  Department. 

The  Advisory  Council  has  a  competent  chief  for 
each  department  who  reports  at  regular  meetings. 
The  counties  have  been  organized  on  the  same  system 
by  means  of  a  circular  letter  sent  out  by  the  chairman 
of  the  Organization  Department. 

228 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

One  exceedingly  interesting  bit  of  effective  war 
work  was  this ;  the  Council  prepared  films  to  be  used 
for  moving  pictures  in  order  to  arouse  interest  in 
registration  and  the  conservation  of  food.  In  large 
letters  was  printed  the  following  sentence : 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  is  compiling  a 
directory  of  women  and  is  classifying  them  according  to 
their  capacity  for  service. 

Underneath  was  a  copy  of  the  Registration  card,  and 
below,  the  following  sentence: 

Sign  this  registration  card  or  your  name  may  be  omitted 
from  the  list  of  loyal  women. 

The  Conservation  film  has  these  sentences : 

Famine  threatens  the  world! 

Women  of  America,  join  the  "Hoover  Army"  for  food 
conservation  by  signing  this  pledge. 

This  was  followed  by  the  Food  Conservation  Regis- 
tration Blank  and  below  it  a  quotation  from  the 
President's  speech: 

Every  house  wife  who  practices  strict  economy  puts  her- 
self in  the  ranks  of  those  who  serve  the  nation. 

WOODROW   WlIiSON. 

Colorado  has  expressed  the  hope  that  films  with 
these  inscriptions  will  be  shown  all  through  the  coun- 
try and  will  serve  to  awaken  interest  in  both  regis- 
tration and  food  conservation. 

The  Council  has  instituted  a  festival  of  the  Harvest 
Home,  a  revival  of  the  old  New  England  custom,  to 
be  held  on  Sunday,  Sept.  30th.  It  is  suggested  that 
every  householder  shall  give  a  tithe,  or  tenth,  of  all 

229 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

jellies,  jams  and  home  produce,  following  the  old 
Bible  custom.  This  tenth  is  to  be  distributed  among 
the  needy,  the  churches  to  be  given  according  to  their 
necessities  and  the  remainder  to  be  donated  to  the 
Red  Cross  civilian  poor  and  the  city  poor. 

The  Council  has  also  had  printed  for  distribution 
among  the  children  attractively  colored  and  decorated 
cards  containing  a  pledge  to  service. 

Regular  meetings  of  the  Council  are  held  every 
month  at  headquarters  in  the  State  Capitol,  Denver. 
The  officers  of  the  Colorado  Woman's  Committee  are: 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Kistler,  Denver;  first  vice-chairman,  Mrs. 
Alva  Adams,  Pueblo;  second  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  Z. 
X.  Snyder,  Greeley;  third  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  Price 
Dunleavy,  Trinidad;  fourth  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  E. 
C.  Goddard,  Colorado  Springs;  fifth  vice-chairman, 
Mrs.  Rosepha  Pulford,  Denver;  sixth  vice-chairman, 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Wilkins,  Ft.  Collins ;  seventh  vice-chair- 
man, Mrs.  Charles  H.  Jacobson,  Denver;  treasurer, 
Mrs.  Harold  Kuntze,  Denver;  auditor,  Miss  Merle 
McClintock,  Grand  Junction;  recording  secretary, 
Mrs.  W.  W.  Grant,  Jr.,  Denver,  Colorado ;  correspond- 
ing secretary,  Mrs.  Horton  Pope,  Denver;  Executive 
Committee:  Mrs.  Thomas  McCue,  Denver;  Mrs.  B. 
F.  Stickley,  Leadville;  Mrs.  W.  J.  Williams,  Cripple 
Creek;  Mrs.  C.  P.  Cochran,  Ft.  Morgan;  Miss  Annie 
Ensminger,  Denver;  Mrs.  Gerald  Schuyler,  Denver; 
Mrs.  John  Maxwell,  Denver;  Mrs.  James  B.  Grant, 
Denver;  Mrs.  M.  D.  McEniry,  Denver;  Mrs.  W.  R. 
Galloway,  Denver;  Mrs.  Helen  Miller,  Denver;  Mrs. 
James  Rae  Arneill,  Denver ;  Miss  Edith  Thomas,  Den- 
ver; Mrs.  Thomas  Keeley,  Denver;  Mrs.  I.  J.  Lewis, 
Colorado  Springs;  Mrs.   Fred  Dick,   Denver;  Mrs. 

230 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Thomas  Burbridge,  Denver:  Heads  of  Departments: 
Registration,  Mrs.  W.  J.  Williams,  Cripple  Creek; 
Home  Economics,  Mrs.  Rosepha  Pulford,  Denver; 
Women  in  Industry,  Mrs.  Helen  Miller,  Denver; 
Child  Welfare,  ]\Irs.  J.  R.  Arneill,  Denver;  i\Iain- 
tenance  of  Existing  Social  Agencies,  Mrs.  W.  S.  Iffley, 
Denver;  Education,  Mrs.  B.  P.  Stickley,  Leadville; 
Liberty  Loan,  Mrs.  Edward  Rassler,  Denver;  Home 
and  Allied  Relief,  Mrs.  M.  D.  McEniry,  Denver ;  Mrs. 
W.  R.  Galloway,  Denver;  Health  and  Recreation, 
Mrs.  Thomas  Keely,  Denver;  Organization,  Mrs. 
Charles  Jacobson,  Denver;  Publicity,  Mrs.  Gerald 
Schuyler,  Denver;  Finance,  Mrs.  Harold  Kuntze, 
Denver;  Legislation,  Mrs.  Inez  Lewis,  Colorado 
Springs;  Cooperation,  Mrs.  Fred  Dick,  Denver;  In- 
struction Courses,  Mrs.  Z.  X.  Snyder,  Greeley. 

Connecticut.  The  story  of  the  organization  of  Con- 
necticut's women  for  war  work  as  outlined  by  the 
able  chairman,  Caroline  Ruutz-Rees,  of  Greenwich,  is 
one  that  is  full  of  inspiration,  and  Connecticut  should 
furnish  an  example  to  all  of  her  sister  states  in  the 
matter  of  perfect  coordination  and  cordial  coopera- 
tion. 

The  Connecticut  Division  of  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  was  formed 
at  a  meeting  held  on  June  1,  1917,  at  Hartford,  and 
Caroline  Ruutz-Rees  was  elected  chairman  at  this 
meeting.  The  following  October  she  was  invited  to 
act  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Women's  Activi- 
ties of  the  State  Council  of  Defense.  The  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee  were  either  invited  to  serve  as 
individuals  on  the  various  committees  of  the  State 
Council  of  Defense  or  to  act  as  the  Executive  Com- 

231 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

mittee  of  the  Committee  on  Women's  Activities;  thus 
the  Woman's  Committee  is  closely  connected  with 
both  Federal  and  State  Governments.  It  can  sit 
either  as  the  Connecticut  Division  of  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  with 
its  heads  of  departments  all  voting  members  of  the 
executive  Board,  or  it  can  resolve  itself  into  the  Com- 
mittee on  Women's  Activities  of  the  State  Council  of 
Defense. 

An  outline  of  the  remarkable  work  done  by  the 
Connecticut  women  is  furnished  by  the  chairman  as 
follows:  **As  the  Committee  on  Women's  Activities 
it  is  financed  by  the  State  Council  in  all  efforts  which 
the  Council  endorses.  It  may  at  its  wish  finance  and 
carry  out  any  work  suggested  from  Washington  or 
inaugurated  by  itself,  to  which  the  State  Council  is 
indifferent.  On  the  other  hand  it  pledges  itself  to 
engage  in  no  undertaking  objectionable  to  the  State 
Council  of  Defense. 

''The  prospect  of  financing  for  itself  some  of  its 
measures  has  no  terrors  for  the  Connecticut  Division, 
for  its  treasurer,  Mrs.  H.  A.  Bumstead,  has  optimism 
and  energy  to  provide  funds  for  any  undertaking. 
There  seems  no  likelihood,  however,  that  she  will  be 
called  upon  to  do  this,  for  the  State  Council  of  De- 
fense has  shown  itself  indifferent  to  nothing  proposed 
by  the  Committee  on  Women's  Activities.  They  are 
providing  not  only  typewriter  and  other  office  fur- 
niture, and  stenographers,  but  a  much  coveted  execu- 
tive secretary,  a  highly  trained  college  woman  now 
holding  a  very  responsible  position  in  a  university. 
They  also  provide  publicity,  and  our  publicity  chair- 
man, Mrs.  Ernest  Thompson-Seton,  has  only  to  decide 

232 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

what  is  to  be  published  and  in  what  shape,  to  have  the 
matter  properly  attended  to. 

* '  The  generous  attitude  of  the  State  Council  of  De- 
fense makes  the  work  of  the  Woman's  Committee 
both  easy  and  fruitful.  Even  before  the  union  of  the 
Committee  with  the  State  Council  of  Defense  it  met 
with  the  utmost  friendliness  and  support  from  that 
organization.  A  room  in  the  Capitol  was  provided, 
cards  for  the  registration  of  women  were  printed  and 
an  appropriation  made  for  their  cataloguing  by  the 
State  Librarian — a  capable  census  maker. 

''Some  of  the  sub-committees  of  the  Connecticut 
Division  are  intensively  organized  all  over  the  state 
— notably  the  Committee  on  Food  Conservation  of 
which  Miss  Estelle  Sprague  of  Storrs  College  is  the 
head.  It  has  done  great  things  in  distributing  the 
Hoover  pledge,  and  has  enlisted  the  finest  women  all 
over  the  state  for  the  United  States  food  pledge  drive. 

''Mrs.  Morgan  G.  Bulkley,  who  is  the  Connecticut 
chairman  of  the  National  Woman's  Liberty  Loan 
Committee,  is  also  our  chairman  for  the  Liberty  Loan. 
She  is  doing  all  in  her  power  to  help  the  Woman's 
Committee  in  its  Liberty  Loan  drive  throughout 
every  town  in  the  state. 

"Mrs.  E.  W.  W.  Hayward  has  been  very  active  in 
the  matter  of  helping  to  get  'deliveries'  and  'returns' 
cut  down.  She  has  interested  every  woman's  asso- 
ciation in  the  state,  beginning  with  the  powerful 
Housewives'  League  of  which  she  is  chairman. 

"Mrs.  W.  Sheffield  Co wles— ex-President  "Roose^ 
velt's  sister — has  kept  us  in  close  touch  with  the  Red 
Cross  work  and  is  lending  support  to  the  splendid 
plan  of  our  chairman  of  Medical  Service,  Dr.  Kate 

233 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Campbell  Mead,  for  a  Woman's  Convalescent  Hospi- 
tal Unit  for  Connecticut.  Dr.  Mead  has  been  vice- 
president  of  the  State  Medical  Society,  a  signal  honor 
for  a  Connecticut  woman,  and  any  plan  she  inaugu- 
rates is  sure  of  success. 

''Miss  Susan  Huntington,  chairman  of  educational 
propaganda,  has  circularized  the  schools  of  the  state 
in  the  interests  of  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
nurse's  assistants,  and  keeps  schools  and  societies  in 
touch  with  all  propaganda  from  the  National  Com- 
mittee. Miss  Huntington  is  well  known  for  her  or- 
ganization of  the  Government  schools  in  Porto  Kico 
and  also  as  head  of  the  International  School  in  Spain 
founded  by  Dr.  Gulick. 

*'In  the  Department  of  Health  and  Eecreation  the 
committee  has  done  very  helpful  work.  Its  chair- 
man, Dr.  Valeria  Parker,  has  been  appointed  on  the 
State  Police,  and  five  policewomen  have  been  ap- 
pointed under  her  to  work  in  the  camps.  They  have 
done  much  to  bring  about  good  conditions  in  the 
three  Connecticut  camps.  They  are  assisted  by  vol- 
unteer patrols  supplied  by  the  National  League  for 
Women's  Service.  Dr.  Parker  and  her  Committee 
have  planned  for  the  wholesome  entertainment  of  the 
enlisted  men,  have  arrested  transgressors  of  the  law, 
and  are  daily  helping,  collectively  and  singly,  the 
girls  who  haunt  the  camps  for  reasons  varying  from 
innocent  sentimental  curiosity  or  enthusiasm  to  pro- 
fessional immorality. 

"Dr.  Mary  C.  Welles,  head  of  the  Consumer's 
League  has,  as  chairman  of  the  Protection  of  Women 
Workers  Department,  made  an  exhaustive  report  on 
the  'Ten  Standards'  recommended  by  the  Women's 

234 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Trade  Union  League  for  women  in  government  em- 
ploy. 

''Mrs.  Arthur  Dodge,  our  chairman  of  Social 
Service,  so  well  known  as  president  of  the  Day  Nurs- 
ery Association,  is  taking  steps  towards  the  increase 
of  day  nurseries  in  the  state  in  view  of  the  increasing 
number  of  women  being  drawn  into  industry.  Llrs. 
"W".  E.  D.  Scott,  chairman  for  the  Health  and  Wel- 
fare of  Children  Department,  is  engaged  upon  a  sur- 
vey of  conditions  surrounding  the  children  in  the 
state,  in  houses,  schools,  and  institutions. 

''The  Committee  has  undertaken  various  single 
tasks  such  as  a  letter  to  school  girls  urging  them  to 
help  in  patriotic  endeavor  and  pointing  out  the  value 
of  acquiring  a  sound  education  as  a  duty  to  the  state ; 
or  as  the  distribution,  throughout  the  schools  of  the 
state,  of  pamphlets  issued  by  the  Department  of 
Public  Information. 

"One  quality  possessed  by  the  Committee  which  is 
none  the  less  striking  for  not  being  original  in  this 
war  time,  is  its  unanimity  for  war  work  across  all 
differences  of  view  in  other  regards.  Women  known 
all  over  the  state  as  suffragists  work  enthusiastically 
with  women  no  less  known  for  their  anti-suffrage  ac- 
tivities. Catholics  and  Protestants,  Republicans, 
Progressives,  Democrats,  all  are  working  together  for 
good.  These  differences  are  only  referred  to  as  they 
enable  the  Committee  to  reach  a  wider  public  of 
women — ^to  reach,  in  fact,  the  whole  woman  public  of 
the  state." 

The  officers  are:  chairman,  Caroline  Ruutz-Rees; 
secretary,  Mrs.  Ernest  Thompson-Seton ;  treasurer, 
Mrs.  H.  A.  Bumstead;  vice-chairmen:  Mrs.  William 

235 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Sheffield  Cowles,  Mrs.  Morgan  G.  Bulkley,  Mrs.  Ed- 
ward W.  W.  Hayward,  Mrs.  John  Laidlaw  Buel: 
members  Executive  Board:  Miss  M.  Estelle  Sprague, 
Mrs.  Richard  M.  Bissell,  Dr.  Mary  C.  Welles,  Dr. 
Valeria  H.  Parker,  Dr.  Kate  Campbell  Mead,  Mrs. 
W.  E.  D.  Scott,  Mrs.  Arthur  Dodge,  Miss  Susan  B. 
Huntington,  Mrs.  Arthur  T.  Hadley,  Miss  Christine 
J.  Haas,  Mrs.  Herbert  Knox  Smith,  Mrs.  Charles  A. 
Jackson,  Mrs.  Cannon. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

DELAWAEE,  FLORIDA,  AND  THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL 

War  work  in  Delaware  centers  in  Wilmington — In  first 
month  of  war  over  1,000  community  gardens  were, 
planted — Outline  of  work  done  by  women  of  national 
capital — Ladies  of  the  Senate  organize  to  sew  for  Red 
Cross — President's  wife  a  contributor — Women  set  fine 
example  to  the  Nation — Florida  women  follow  sugges- 
tions from  National  Woman's  Committee — ^Presidents 
of  state  organizations  form  Woman's  Committee. 

Delaware.  In  Delaware  the  Committee  on  Na- 
tional Defense  was  started  in  Wilmington  the  last  of 
March,  when  a  large  group  of  women  organized  for 
work  in  the  city  of  Wilmington.  The  state  being 
largely  agricultural  in  the  two  lower  counties,  and 
W^ilmington  containing  about  one-half  the  popula- 
tion of  the  state,  the  work  largely  concerned  itself 
with  the  city  of  Wilmington. 

Organization  was  perfected  by  the  appointment  of 
Committees  on  Home  Economics,  Community  Gar- 
dens, Public  Health  and  Nursing,  Americanization  or 
Friendly  Committee,  Training  for  Motor  Service  and 
Enrollment  for  Service. 

The  Community  Gardens,  in  the  first  month  of 
war,  planted  over  a  thousand  gardens  and  about  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five  back  yard  gardens.  These 
yielded  good  results  and  the  Committee  on  Economics 

237 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

followed  the  food  production  work  by  conducting 
canning  classes  in  various  parts  of  the  state.  These 
classes  were  conducted  mainly  by  women  connected 
with  the  Economics  Department  of  Delaware  College. 

The  Governor  of  the  state  appointed  a  Food  Con- 
servation Committee  in  May,  1917,  and  the  first  week 
in  July  the  Woman's  Committee  of  National  Defense 
became  a  state  instead  of  a  city  organization  and  ap- 
pointed a  chairman  for  each  of  the  three  counties  of 
the  state.  Mrs.  S.  Harrington  Messick,  of  Bridgeville, 
Delaware,  is  chairman  for  Sussex  County,  Mrs.  L. 
Irving  Handy,  Smyrna,  for  Kent  County,  and  Mrs. 
Alfred  D.  Warner,  Wilmington,  is  chairman  for  New 
Castle  County;  while  Mrs.  Preston  Lea,  Wilmington, 
is  chairman  of  the  Wilmington  Committee,  and  Mrs. 
Charles  R.  Miller  is  chairman  of  the  State  Committee. 

The  Hoover  Pledge  Cards  were  distributed  through 
the  Postoffice  Department,  which  was  quite  a  disap- 
pointment to  the  Committee  as  they  had  hoped  to 
distribute  them  through  the  local  committees  with  the 
aid  of  the  Police  Department,  and  the  members  feel 
that  had  they  been  allowed  to  do  so  the  results  would 
have  been  immediate  and  of  a  more  satisfactory  na- 
ture. The  women  of  Delaware  have  worked  suc- 
cessfully along  various  lines  and  have  patriotically 
answered  every  call. 

District  of  Columbia.  While  the  leaders  in  the 
defense  work  of  the  District  of  Columbia  are  modest  in 
their  statement  of  their  accomplishments,  it  is  not 
unfair  to  say  that  the  women  of  the  National  Capital 
have  set  a  fine  example  in  the  enthusiasm  and  con- 
stancy with  which  they  have  set  about  work  in  every 
field.    The  first  ladies  of  the  land,  members  of  the 

238 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

President's  own  household,  wives  of  the  cabinet  mem- 
bers, senators  and  the  official  family  generally 
through  the  long  summer  months  kept  faithfully  at 
their  tasks.  Mrs.  Wilson  and  Miss  Helen  Bones, 
niece  of  the  President,  have  personally  contributed 
numbers  of  articles  made  by  their  own  hands  to  the 
Red  Cross.  Mrs.  Marshall,  wife  of  the  Vice-Pres- 
ident, is  president  of  an  organization  known  as 
"Ladies  of  the  Senate,"  which  is  composed  of  the 
wives  of  the  cabinet  members  and  senators.  These 
ladies  meet  every  Tuesday  morning  and  work  for 
the  Red  Cross.  Their  annual  dues  provide  a  nice 
sum  which  is  devoted  to  some  specific  relief  work. 
All  social  functions,  with  exception  of  the  formal 
state  affairs  given  for  official  visitors,  have  practically 
been  discontinued,  and  even  the  state  functions  are 
characterized  by  extreme  simplicity. 

In  practically  all  of  the  government  departments 
employees  have  been  organized  for  systematic  war 
work.  As  soon  as  war  was  declared  Mrs.  Franklin  K. 
Lane,  wife  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  called  to- 
gether the  wives  of  the  bureau  chiefs  and  organized 
the  Interior  Department  for  war  work.  The  growth 
of  the  organization  has  been  phenomenal  and  it  now 
has  members  not  only  in  Washington  but  in  the  field 
service  of  the  department.  Alaska  contributed  $7,000 
and  made  possible  a  gift  of  eight  beds,  in  addition  to 
eight  previously  given,  to  the  Washington  ward  of  the 
Neuilly  Hospital  in  France.  Indians  of  the  different 
reservations  gave  a  beautiful  collection  of  baskets  the 
sale  of  which  brought  $1,150.  Mrs.  Lane's  Committee 
is  composed  of  Mrs.  Alex  T.Vogelsang,  wife  of  First 
Asst.  Secretary-  of  the  Interior;  Mrs.  Stephen  Mather, 

239 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

wife  of  Director  of  Parks;  Mrs.  E.  C.  Bradley,  wife 
of  Asst.  to  the  Secretary;  Mrs.  Lathrop  Brown;  Mrs. 
Van  H.  Manning,  wife  of  Director  of  Bureau  of  Mines ; 
Mrs.  Gaylord  M.  Saltzgaber,  wife  of  Commissioner  of 
Pensions;  Mrs.  E.  C.  Tieman,  wife  of  Asst.  Commis- 
sioner of  Pensions ;  Mrs.  Cato  Sells,  wife  of  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs ;  Mrs.  Edgar  B.  Merritt,  wife 
of  Asst.  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs ;  Mrs.  James 
T.  Newton,  wife  of  Commissioner  of  Patents;  Mrs. 
Philander  P.  Claxton,  wife  of  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion ;  Mrs.  William  R.  King,  wife  of  Chief  Counsel  of 
Reclamation  Service;  Mrs.  George  Otis  Smith,  wife  of 
Director  of  Geological  Survey;  Mrs.  Clay  Tallman, 
wife  of  Commissioner  of  General  Land  Office,  Mrs. 
Morrelle  C.  Bruce,  wife  of  Assistant  Commissioner  of 
the  General  Land  Office. 

The  District  of  Columbia  Chapter  of  the  Red  Cross 
is  a  model  for  the  whole  nation  and  a  record  of  its 
achievements  would  in  itself  make  an  interesting 
volume. 

The  principal  functions  of  the  Woman's  Division 
of  the  District  of  Columbia  Council  of  National  De- 
fense since  its  organization  in  June  have  been  the 
promotion  of  the  food  conservation  campaign  in  July, 
assisting  in  floating  the  Liberty  Loan,  in  October, 
and  assisting  the  army  of  clerks  and  other  employees, 
who  have  added  a  third  to  Washington's  population 
since  April,  1917,  to  find  places  to  live  and  eat. 

The  food  conservation  campaign  was  carried  on  by 
means  of  meetings  held  in  the  different  public  schools 
where  women  were  asked  to  sign  the  food  cards,  and 
in  some  cases  demonstrations  were  given  in  domestic 
economy.    Also,  canning  was  carried  on  all  summer 

240 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

in  a  specially  equipped  kitchen,  the  equipment  being 
the  gift  of  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Wetmore,  chairman  of 
the  Food  Conservation  and  Production  Department. 
This  kitchen  was  located  in  a  central  public  school 
and  was  very  popular.  Both  colored  and  white  can- 
ners  brought  their  fruit  and  vegetables  and  canned 
them  in  the  kitchen  under  the  supervision  of  experts. 

This  work  was  carried  on  in  a  modified  form 
during  the  winter  in  a  War  Kitchen,  located  at  1510 
K  Street,  where  daily  demonstrations  are  given  in  the 
economical  preparation  of  food. 

The  Liberty  Loan  campaign  was  conducted  through 
the  organization  of  the  Woman's  Division,  Mrs. 
Ernest  Thompson-Seton  being  the  campaign  manager. 
It  differed  from  other  Liberty  Loan  drives  in  at 
least  one  particular.  The  closing  day  was  '  *  Children 's 
Day"  with  the  slogan,  **A  Mile  of  Nickels."  The 
chairman  of  this  day,  Mrs.  Ellis  Logan,  invited  all 
the  children  from  public  and  private  schools,  orphan 
asylums,  and  various  institutions,  and  also  the  chil- 
dren from  patriotic  societies,  clubs  and  other  organ- 
izations to  attend  in  a  body  at  different  hours  of  the 
day  and  bring  their  nickels,  which  they  deposited 
in  a  big  bank  in  the  form  of  a  Liberty  Bell,  and  their 
names  were  inscribed  on  an  honor  roll.  The  money 
was  to  purchase  Liberty  Bonds,  which  were  con- 
tributed to  the  Fund  for  the  Fatherless  Children  of 
France,  an  authorized  custodian  of  which  was  pres- 
ent during  the  day.  Special  features  of  children  in 
costume,  both  military  and  historical,  and  children 
of  well  knovm  parentage  whom  the  public  would  be 
interested  to  see  were  announced  through  the  Press  to 
be  in  attendance  at  specified  times. 

241 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  demand  for  living  accommodations  in  Wash- 
ington during  the  war  regime  has  so  far  exceeded  the 
supply,  particularly  the  supply  appropriate  to  the 
young  women  who  come  from  comfortable  homes  and 
good  salaried  positions  to  work  for  the  Government, 
that  the  Woman's  Division  has  conducted  a  canvass 
among  club  members.  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution,  and  other  societies  composed  of  women 
who  are  likely  to  have  certain  spare  rooms  in  their 
houses,  in  an  endeavor  to  make  available  this  space 
which  ordinarily  goes  for  social  entertaining.  This 
work  has  been  expanded  and  placed  on  a  systematic 
basis.  The  President  has  set  aside  the  sum  of  $1,000 
a  month  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  survey  of  hous- 
ing conditions  and  providing  for  the  influx  of  workers. 

The  officers  are:  chairman,  Mrs.  Archibald  Hop- 
kins; vice-chairmen,  Mrs.  Robert  Lansing;  Mrs. 
Ernest  Thompson-Seton,  Liberty  Loan;  Mrs.  Blaine 
Beale;  Mrs.  Gibson  Fahenstock,  Woman's  Section, 
Navy  League;  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Wetmore,  Capital 
Garden  Club;  Mrs.  Robert  S.  Chew,  Evening  Clinic; 
Miss  Mary  Gwynn,  Washington  Diet  Kitchen;  Mrs. 
William  Hitz,  Immigration  Bureau;  Mrs.  G.  M. 
Brumbaugh,  D.  A.  R. ;  Miss  Sarah  Lee ;  Miss  Nannie 
Burroughs,  Colored  Women;  Mrs.  F.  L.  Ransome, 
Housekeepers'  Alliance.  Executive  Committee:  Miss 
Alma  Ruggles,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Biddle,  Mrs.  Garrison  Mc- 
Clintock,  Mrs.  Frederick  H.  Brooke,  Mrs.  Walter 
Bruce  Howe,  Miss  Edna  Sheehy.  Men's  Commit- 
tee— chairmen:  Mrs.  Archibald  Hopkins,  Mrs.  Har- 
riet Blaine  Beale,  Mrs.  A.  P.  Gardner,  Mrs.  J.  W. 
Wadsworth,  Jr. ;  Mrs.  Louis  P.  Brownlow,  Mrs. 
William  Belden  Noble,  Mrs.  George  Howard. 

242 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Florida. — Mrs.  W.  S.  Jennings,  president  of  the 
Florida  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  was  appointed 
temporary  chairman  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of 
the  Council  of  National  Defense,  and  immediately- 
called  a  meeting  in  Jacksonville  to  perfect  a  perma- 
nent organization.  There  were  present  at  this  meet- 
ing :  Mrs.  H.  H.  McCreary,  President  U.  D.  C. ;  Miss 
Minnie  E.  Neal,  President  W.  C.  T.  U. ;  Mrs.  Arthur 
Gilkes,  State  Regent  of  D.  A.  R. ;  Miss  Agnes  Harris, 
State  Agent  of  Canning  Clubs,  and  President  Teach- 
ers' Association;  Mrs.  Telfair  Stockton,  President  Co- 
lonial Dames;  Mrs.  W.  B.  Young,  State  Chairman 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Mrs.  Bion 
Bamett,  representing  Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  Red  Cross; 
and  several  other  prominent  women. 

Mrs.  William  Hocker  of  Ocala,  former  president 
of  the  Florida  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  was 
elected  permanent  chairman;  Mrs.  H.  H.  McCreary, 
of  Gainesville,  vice  president ;  Mrs.  Telfair  Stockton, 
of  Jacksonville,  secretary-treasurer.  These  officers 
together  with  the  other  state  representatives  of 
women's  organizations  constitute  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee. 

As  there  was  no  provision  made  for  financing  the 
state  organization,  local  committees  were  asked  to 
contribute  one  dollar  from  each  organization  cooper- 
ating. 

The  first  step  of  the  permanent  chairman  was  to 
appoint  a  temporary  chairman  in  all  towns  of  more 
than  five  hundred  inhabitants,  and  send  to  them  an 
organization  letter.  The  work  was  somewhat  re- 
tarded as  so  many  of  the  women  appointed  were  out 
of  the  state  for  the  summer  and  had  to  name  sub- 

243 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

stitutes,  or  await  their  return.  However,  in  a  short 
time  sixty-five  units  had  been  established,  with  per- 
manent chairmen,  besides  fifteen  ward  units  under 
Miss  Meigs,  chairman  of  the  Jacksonville  division, 
and  about  as  many  under  Mrs.  Hugh  McFarlane, 
chairman  of  Tampa.  There  were  also  more  than  one 
hundred  acting  chairmen,  many  of  whom  later  ef- 
fected permanent  organizations. 

Before  the  Woman's  Committee  was  organized, 
Mrs.  W.  S.  Jennings,  temporary  state  chairman,  man- 
aged the  first  food  conservation  pledge  campaign, 
through  several  of  the  women's  state  organizations. 
About  twenty-five  thousand  cards  were  distributed. 

The  first  work  of  importance  undertaken  by  the 
Woman's  Committee  has  been  the  registration  for 
service  requested  by  the  National  Committee.  This 
was  managed  by  Mrs.  W.  B.  Young  of  Jacksonville, 
treasurer  of  the  General  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs.  Mrs.  Young  sent  a  circular  letter  to  all  the 
units,  explaining  the  purpose  and  value  of  registra- 
tion, and  asked  them  to  write  for  the  number  of 
cards  desired,  basing  their  estimate  on  population. 
Thirty-two  thousand  cards  were  distributed,  and 
September  19,  20  and  21  named  as  registration  days. 
There  was  very  satisfactory  response. 

Of  another  part  of  the  work,  Mrs.  Hocker  says: 

**Miss  Tarbell,  for  her  committee,  asked  our  coop- 
eration in  making  public  and  popular  the  movement 
for  women  to  carry  their  own  purchases,  and  enable 
merchants  to  release  men  for  service.  We  sent 
notice  to  all  the  units,  suggesting  methods  of  coopera- 
tion, to  agree  on  fewer  daily  deliveries,  and  reduce 
these  when  possible,  and  to  do  marketing  in  person, 

244 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

and  not  by  phone.  We  also  distributed  *  stickers' 
with  the  slogan  'Women!  Cooperate  with  Mer- 
chants.    Cut  down  deliveries.' 

**The  Committee  was  asked  to  cooperate  in  the 
War  Library  fund,  and  in  the  big  Food  Conservation 
drive.  For  this,  we  marshaled  all  our  forces  and 
joined  with  the  Food  Commission,  State  Council  of 
Defense,  and  other  agencies,  in  making  it  thorough 
and  effective. 

**Each  unit  is  composed  of  several  organizations. 
For  instance,  there  were  forty-five  different  organiza- 
tions represented  at  the  meeting  to  establish  the  Jack- 
sonville unit. 

** State  organizations  form  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee, and  their  presidents,  or  heads,  together  with  our 
officers,  constitute  our  Executive  Board."  The 
presidents  of  these  organizations  are  Mrs.  W.  S.  Jen- 
nings, Florida  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  Mrs. 
H.  H.  McCreary,  U.  D.  S. ;  Mrs.  Telfair  Stockton, 
Colonial  Dames ;  Mrs.  W.  B.  Young,  National  Service 
League ;  Mrs.  Frank  Stranahan,  Suffrage  Association ; 
Miss  Minnie  Neal,  W.  C.  T.  U.;  Miss  Agnes  Ellen 
Harris,  Canning  Clubs;  Mrs.  Bion  Barnett,  Red 
Cross,  Y.  W.  C.  A. ;  Miss  Elsie  Hoyt,  Southern  Asso- 
ciation College  Women;  Mrs.  L.  B.  Safford,  National 
Federation  of  Music  Clubs ;  Mrs.  Sarah  Harris,  East- 
ern Star;  Mrs.  Arthur  Gilkes,  D.  A.  R. ;  Mrs.  C.  C. 
Bagwell,  Catholic  Alumnae;  Mrs.  Hattie  Bethel, 
Pythian  Sisters;  Mrs.  Mabel  DeRyder,  Woman's  Re- 
lief Corps,  G.  A.  R.;  Miss  Anna  Davids,  Florida 
Nurses'  Association;  Miss  Ella  Rorabeck,  U.  S. 
Daughters  1812;  Mrs.  Frank  E.  Jennings,  State 
Chairman  Liberty  Loan.     Honorary    vice-chairmen: 

245 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Mrs.  W.  W.  Cummer;  Mrs.  D.  U.  Fletcher;  Mrs. 
Frank  Clark ;  Mrs.  Sidney  J.  Catts,  wife  of  the  Gov- 
ernor ;  Mrs.  D.  U.  Fletcher,  wife  of  senior  U.  S.  Sen- 
ator ;  Mrs.  Frank  Clark,  wife  of  senior  Congressman ; 
Mrs.  W.  W.  Cummer,  philanthropist  and  prominent 
in  women's  work. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
GEORGIA,  IDAHO,  AND  ILLINOIS 

Remarkable  work  of  Georgia  -women — Agricultural 
rallies  prove  effective — First  Red  Cross  diet  kitchen  in 
South — Negro  women  work  for  negro  soldiers — Idaho 
women  get  quick  results  in  every  undertaking — Society 
women  pack  prunes — Illinois  fortunate  in  having  many 
prominent  women  identified  with  defense  work — Great 
work  of  women  in  Chicago. 

Georgia.  In  reading  the  story  of  the  splendid 
work  the  women  of  the  whole  state  of  Georgia  are 
doing,  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  this  record  of  achieve- 
ment, this  example  of  efficiency,  this  ideal  of  service, 
with  newspaper  stories  appearing  about  the  time  the 
work  was  at  its  height  announcing  *' Georgia  women 
plead  for  entrance  into  .the  State  University.'^ 

Especial  praise  is  due  the  expert  publicity  work 
of  Miss  Isma  Dooley,  chairman  of  the  Publicity  De- 
partment of  the  Woman's  Committee,  through  whose 
untiring  efforts  the  people  of  Georgia  have  been  kept 
informed  about  the  work  of  the  women. 

**The  story  of  the  war  work  of  the  women  of 
Georgia  is  a  most  interesting  one,  and  the  Georgia 
Division,  Woman's  Committee  Council  of  Defense,  is 
writing  the  story,"  says  Miss  Dooley. 

The  Georgia  Division  was  organized  late  in  June, 
1917,  although  the  war  work  by  Georgia  women  has 

247 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

been  going  on  since  1914.  Records  thereof  were  in 
scattered  and  in  unwritten  form,  except  that  of  the 
work  of  the  Georgia  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs 
along  the  lines  of  agriculture  and  food  conservation. 

Mrs.  Samuel  Inman,  Atlanta,  appointed  chairman 
of  the  Georgia  Division,  Woman's  Committee  Coun- 
cil of  National  Defense,  assembled  at  her  first  meet- 
ing the  heads  of  virtually  every  state  organization 
of  women  who  had  added  to  their  original  work  some 
form  of  war  defense  work.  There  were  forty-three 
present.  The  first  thing  which  Mrs.  Inman  asked  of 
her  central  committee  was  that  they  aid  her  in  get- 
ting records  of  the  war  defense  work  being  done ;  and 
in  organizing  county  units  in  every  section  of  the 
state.  Through  her  Publicity  Committee  she  issued 
weekly  bulletins  to  the  leading  daily  and  weekly 
papers.  These  carried  information  pertaining  to  the 
meaning  of  defense  work,  and  information  was  called 
for  concerning  work  of  women  in  organizations  and 
as  individuals.  The  response  to  these  bulletins,  to- 
gether with  reports  from  the  Central  Committee  and 
the  chairmen  of  county  units,  is  making  the  story  of 
the  work  of  Georgia's  women  in  war. 

Even  before  the  European  war,  the  Georgia  State 
College  of  Agriculture — a  branch  of  the  University  of 
Georgia — had  begun  a  campaign  for  diversified  farm- 
ing. It  was  brought  to  their  attention  that,  though 
Georgia  was  a  rich  cotton  state,  she  had  been  neglect- 
ing many  and  varied  products  which  her  soil  so  easily 
produced. 

The  inroads  of  the  boll  weevil,  in  its  gradual  prog- 
ress from  Texas  through  the  cotton  producing  section 
of  the  South,  had  been  heralded   by   the    extension 

248 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

workers  of  the  College  of  Agriculture,  and  they,  with 
the  club  women,  began  the  campaign  among  men  and 
women  in  the  farming  districts  for  diversification 
and  intensive  farming.  Then,  with  the  war  begin- 
ning in  1914  and  with  Georgia's  relation  as  a  cotton 
producing  state  to  Germany's  commerce,  there  was 
an  impetus  given  the  agricultural  campaign  work. 
Mrs.  Nellie  Peters  Black,  a  member  of  the  agricul- 
tural committee  of  the  Georgia  Federation  of  Wom- 
en's Clubs,  organized  a  series  of  agricultural  rallies 
which  she  assembled  with  the  aid  of  the  club  women 
in  twelve  congressional  districts  of  the  state.  She 
invited  to  these  rallies  the  experts  from  the  College 
of  Agriculture,  from  the  various  government  agen- 
cies cooperating  with  stage  agencies,  and  from  the 
state  agricultural  society.  The  club  women  worked 
through  the  smaller  rural  clubs  to  get  men  and 
women  to  the  meetings,  and  within  six  months,  the 
cooperation  of  the  club  women  had  been  asked  by 
every  agency  for  agricultural  development  in  the 
state. 

Mrs.  Black,  herself  the  owner  of  a  productive 
plantation,  made  a  tour  of  the  state,  visiting  the  ral- 
lies held  by  men  or  women,  taking  the  message  of  the 
club  women.  The  girls'  canning  clubs  became  a  part 
of  the  general  agricultural  movement,  and  in  a  year's 
time  the  lands  hitherto  producing  only  cotton,  in 
many  sections,  began  to  show  acres  of  foodstuffs, 
grains,  etc.,  to  bring  new  favor  and  interest  to  truck 
gardening,  fruit  raising,  and  especially  to  the  peanut 
and  soy  bean  industries.  At  the  last  two  southeast- 
ern Pairs  held  in  Atlanta,  women  were  found  to  be 
largely  and  practically  interested  in  stock-raising. 

249 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Even  before  the  government  called  for  records 
bearing  upon  the  work  of  women,  and  before  any  or- 
ganization began  a  program  for  war  defense  work 
per  se,  the  Georgia  club  women  had  established  their 
agricultural  activity  under  the  war  defense  banner. 

Having  held  the  agricultural  rallies  in  many  dis- 
tricts of  the  state,  Mrs.  Black,  subsequently  elected 
president  of  the  Federation,  responded  to  calls  for 
speakers  at  county  agricultural  institutes. 

When  in  April  the  call  was  made  for  women  to  take 
up  the  work  of  Food  Conservation  and  Home  Eco- 
nomics, following  the  organization  of  the  national 
movement  for  Food  Administration,  Mrs.  Black  and 
Mrs.  Samuel  Lumpkin,  the  latter  president  of  the 
Woman's  Department  of  the  Southeastern  Fair,  es- 
tablished in  the  state  capitol  of  Atlanta,  an  agricul- 
tural school  for  teaching  practical  methods  to  women 
in  the  matter  of  canning,  preserving  and  otherwise 
conserving  food  products. 

To  contribute  to  the  program  of  this  school  came 
instructors  from  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  the  State  College  of  Agriculture,  and 
the  State  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  the  aver- 
age attendance  at  each  session  was  from  two  hundred 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty.  The  gallery  of  the  as- 
sembly room  of  the  capitol  was  reserved  for  negroes. 
And  they  came  in  large  numbers,  every  class  being 
represented — from  the  negro  professors  of  the  seven 
colleges  for  negroes  maintained  in  Atlanta,  to  the 
humbler  individual,  the  negro  cook,  who  came  per- 
haps in  the  same  automobile  which  brought  her  mis- 
tress, each  wishing  instruction  in  the  way  that  she 
might  do  her  bit  in  the  war  crisis.    Lectures  on  poul- 

250 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

try-raising,  dairying  and  stock-raising  were  included 
in  the  program. 

While  the  agricultural  work  was  active  in  the 
rural  districts,  through  the  city  and  town  clubs,  the 
home  garden  movement  had  been  pushed  and  there 
was  scarcely  a  home  in  any  community  which  did  not 
have  its  productive  garden.  The  school  children  had 
their  school  gardens,  for  which  the  club  women  gave 
prizes.  The  school  garden  movement  extended  to  the 
vacant  lot  movement,  when  the  children  secured 
vacant  land  and  planted  seeds.  This  movement  stim- 
ulated great  interest  and  there  was  a  vacant  lot 
garden  contest  among  the  grown-ups  in  Atlanta  and 
other  cities  in  the  state. 

Then  came  great  interest  among  the  women  to  con- 
serve the  food  products  and  the  very  democracy  of  it 
all — the  rich  women  and  poor  women  alike  going  to 
the  same  meeting,  getting  the  same  instruction,  and 
using  the  same  kind  of  cans  and  jars — has  proved  an 
influence  and  a  force. 

A  campaign  for  wheat  conservation  followed,  and 
from  the  College  of  Agriculture,  through  lectures 
and  through  the  federated  club  women,  information 
and  recipes  have  been  sent  out  bearing  upon  the  use 
of  com  meal,  peanut  meal,  etc. 

The  club  women  of  Georgia  have  done  a  tremen- 
dous amount  of  Red  Cross  work,  both  as  individual 
members  and  through  Red  Cross  committees  included 
in  the  work  of  local  clubs.  In  those  cities  where 
there  have  been  National  Guard  centralization  camps, 
and  the  cantonments  for  the  National  Army,  the  club 
women  have  worked  in  social  service  committees.  At 
the  Officers'  Training  Camp  at  Fort  McPherson,  the 

251 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

club  women  of  Atlanta  furnished  programs  of  music 
and  the  drama,  to  which  local  artists  generously- 
contributed  their  services.  The  same  work  was  done 
at  Camp  Wheeler,  Macon,  and  Camp  Gordon,  Atlan- 
ta, where  forty  thousand  men  were  in  training. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  women  are  being  called 
upon  more  and  more  to  fill  men's  places,  leaders  of 
the  Georgia  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  and  of 
the  Georgia  Division,  Council  of  National  Defense, 
worked  for  the  passage  of  a  bill  which  was  introduced 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  Georgia  asking  that  the 
junior,  senior  and  post-graduate  classes  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Georgia  be  opened  to  women.  The  same 
committee  have  endorsed  and  warmly  encouraged  the 
attendance  of  women  upon  the  night  classes  of  the 
School  of  Commerce  of  the  Georgia  School  of  Tech- 
nology. 

Mrs.  Inman,  representing  the  Council  of  Defense 
has  united  with  the  federated  club  women,  to  aid 
the  negro  women  in  many  quarters  of  the  state,  the 
negro  women  working  most  intelligently  in  the 
Georgia  Federation  of  Colored  Women's  Clubs. 

The  work  of  the  negro  women  had  been  along 
more  strictly  agricultural  lines,  but  they  organized 
to  do  social  service  work  in  the  vicinities  where  the 
Military  Cantonments  were  established.  In  Atlanta, 
Augusta  and  other  places,  this  work  was  carried  on 
by  the  colored  women,  aided  still  by  the  club  women, 
by  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  and  by  the  War 
Council  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion. 

In  Camp  Gordon,  at  Atlanta,  the  four  thousand 
negro  soldiers  offered  a  broad  field  of  work  for  the 

252 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

representative  negroes  of  Atlanta,  among  the  men  and 
women,  and  they  did  it  earnestly  and  intelligently. 

The  Georgia  Society  of  Colonial  Dames,  and  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  and  Daughters 
of  the  Confederacy  have  worked  energetically  for  war 
relief,  in  affiliation  with  the  Red  Cross,  and  have  met 
every  call  which  has  been  issued  by  the  Red  Cross 
Society  to  the  women  of  Georgia.  When  the  reports 
are  made  by  the  woman's  societies  in  the  church  it 
will  be  an  inspiring  one,  there  being  auxiliaries  to  the 
Red  Cross  in  nearly  every  community  big  enough  to 
own  a  church  in  which  a  woman's  missionary  or  aid 
society  exists. 

The  first  Red  Cross  Diet  Kitchen  in  the  South  was 
that  established  in  Atlanta  by  the  Junior  League,  an 
organization  of  young  society  girls.  In  connection 
with  the  diet  kitchen,  cooking  classes  have  been  or- 
ganized, all  under  the  direction  of  the  Red  Cross. 

In  Atlanta  there  is  an  active  and  far-reaching  work 
being  done  by  the  local  branch  of  the  National  League 
for  Woman's  Service.  They  have  committees  on 
over-seas  relief,  classes  in  stenography  and  typing, 
classes  in  wireless,  signaling  and  map  reading,  and  a 
class  in  X-ray.  They  have  a  motor  driving  class, 
which  did  an  admirable  work  in  the  disastrous  fire  in 
May,  1917.  Under  the  head  of  Social  Service,  the 
National  League  has  a  bureau  of  information,  the  pur- 
pose being  to  find  homes,  lodgings  and  boarding-places 
for  the  families  of  the  army  men  now  in  the  city,  and 
for  the  families  of  the  men  in  Camp  Gordon.  The 
Woman's  Navy  League  in  Georgia  worked  for  the 
soldiers  on  the  battleship  Georgia,  and  met  calls  for 
knitted  articles  for  other  battleships. 

253 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  Atlanta  branch  of  the  War  Council  work  of 
the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  has  established  two  departments  of 
social  service  work  in  Atlanta,  in  a  hostess  house  at 
Camp  Gordon,  and  an  in-town  branch  centrally  lo- 
cated and  covering  the  floor  of  a  large  office  build- 
ing. Similar  hostess  houses  will  be  built  at  the  camps 
at  Macon  and  Augusta.  In  all  three  cities  the  local 
branches  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  will  cooperate  directly. 
Miss  Fay  Kellogg,  of  New  York,  is  architect  for  the 
several  ''hostess  houses"  to  be  built  by  the  Y.  W.  C. 
A.  in  the  southern  military  cantonments. 

The  officers  are:  Honorary  chairman,  Mrs.  Nellie 
Peters  Black,  Atlanta ;  chairman,  Mrs.  Samuel  M.  In- 
man,  Atlanta;  first  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  Z.  I.  Fitz- 
Patrick,  Thomasville;  second  vice-chairman,  Mrs. 
Isaac  Minis,  Savannah;  third  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  A. 
W.  Van  House,  Rome ;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs. 
Daniel  Harris,  Atlanta;  recording  secretary,  Miss 
Lucy  Lester,  Atlanta;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Hugh  M.  Wil- 
lett,  Atlanta ;  chairman  of  Press,  Miss  Isma  Dooly,  At- 
lanta; chairman  of  Registration,  Mrs.  S.  W.  Foster, 
Atlanta;  chairman  of  Compilation,  Mrs.  P.  I.  Mc- 
Govem,  Atlanta. 

Idaho.  The  first  work  undertaken  by  the  women 
of  Idaho,  after  they  were  organized,  was  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  food  pledge  cards.  An  interesting  feature 
of  this  work  in  Idaho  was  the  way  in  which  women 
sought  and  secured  the  cooperation  of  the  men  of  the 
cross-roads  general  stores  and  the  rural  mail  carriers, 
in  reaching  the  women  of  the  rural  districts.  The 
workers  reported  that  they  found  these  men  most 
cordial  in  their  support  of  the  plan.  Wliile  few 
women  in  Idaho  were  able  to  register  for  out  of  state 

254 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

work,  many  of  them  have  worked  indefatigably  in 
relief  and  other  kinds  of  war  work. 

The  committee  started  the  campaign  for  one 
merchant's  delivery  a  day.  The  smaller  towns  were 
especially  successful  in  several  instances,  notably 
Nampa,  in  getting  a  cooperative  delivery.  The 
merchants  of  Boise  were  not  so  ready  to  respond  to 
the  request  of  the  women  but  persistent  efforts  were 
finally  successful. 

The  Idaho  women  made  a  definite  request  of  every 
hotel  and  cafe  to  observe  wheatless  and  meatless  days, 
and  of  the  bakers  to  bake  only  half  the  amount  of 
wheat  bread  on  Wednesday  (the  bakers  naming  the 
day).  If  these  efforts  were  not  entirely  successful  it 
was  not  due  to  the  lack  of  interest  and  hard  work  on 
the  part  of  the  women.  Mrs.  E.  J.  Dockery,  the  pub- 
licity chairman,  said,  ''Imagine  our  disappointment 
to  find  two  weeks  later  that  but  two  places  had  lived 
up  to  their  agreement — the  Commercial  Club  and 
the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  We  told  the  slackers  exactly  what 
we  thought  of  them  and  the  newspapers  kept  the 
subject  alive  for  us.  We  made  the  rounds  regularly, 
scanned  the  menus  closely  and  if  we  found  the  prom- 
ises had  not  been  kept,  we  just  told  the  newspapers, 
and  they  told  the  public.  By  this  means  we  got  prac- 
tically all  of  the  men  in  line.'* 

Mrs.  Dockery  also  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the  way 
in  which  the  women  of  her  state  went  about  other 
branches  of  war  work.  She  says:  "We  have  done 
splendid  work  in  food  conservation.  The  women 
dried  our  delicious  cherries  in  large  numbers  to  send 
to  the  boys  at  the  front.  They  are  superior  to  the 
best  raisins,  and  we  have  dried  and  canned  until  we 

255 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

are  worn  out.  In  the  rural  communities  much  com- 
munity work  was  done  through  the  boys'  and  girls* 
canning  clubs. 

**We  did  our  spectacular  work,  however,  when  the 
call  came  for  workers  in  the  fruit  box  factory  and  the 
prune  packing  houses,  when  the  society  women,  high 
school  boys  and  girls — everybody  volunteered.  The 
society  women  decided  to  pack  prunes  and  give 
wages  to  the  Woman's  Committee  instead  of  having  a 
*  chain  bridge'  or  'chain  tea,'  the  two  methods  by 
which  we  are  raising  funds.  They  included  such 
prominent  women  as  Mrs.  W.  E.  Borah,  wife  of  the 
United  States  Senator,  bankers'  wives,  rich  sheep 
men's  wives,  and  others.  The  majority  of  them 
were  young  matrons,  and  imagine  their  chagrin  when 
the  owner  of  one  of  the  packing  houses,  feeling  sorry 
for  the  society  women,  who  after  four  hours  work 
had  earned  about  thirty  cents,  said  consolingly: 
'Never  mind,  ladies,  you  could  hardly  expect  to  make 
much  at  prunes ;  we  always  try  to  get  the  young  girls 
to  pack  prunes,  and  save  the  middle-aged  women  for 
packing  the  apples. '  The  women  took  this  as  a  huge 
joke,  and  though  the  highest  any  of  the  women  made 
the  first  day  was  eighty  cents  for  nine  hours'  work, 
they  were  game  and  kept  at  it. ' ' 

The  officers  of  the  Idaho  Woman's  Committee  are: 
chairman,  Mrs.  S.  H.  Hays,  Boise  City;  vice-chair- 
man, Mrs.  Calvin  Cobb,  Boise;  second  vice-chair- 
man, Mrs.  Fred  A.  Pittenger,  Boise;  secretary,  Mrs. 
K.  I.  Perky,  Boise;  assistant  secretary,  Miss  Leafy  E. 
Simpson,  Boise;  treasurer,  Miss  Helen  Coston,  Boise. 

Illinois.  There  is  no  field  of  war  work  which  has 
engaged  the  attention  of  American  women,  in  which 

256 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Illinois  women  have  not  achieved  conspicuous  suc- 
cess. A  record  of  the  work  accomplished  in  the  city 
of  Chicago  alone  would  fill  volumes  and  would  be  in- 
teresting and  inspirational. 

As  soon  as  the  call  came  from  the  Women's  Com- 
mittee of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  in  Wash- 
ington, Mrs.  Joseph  T.  Bowen,  who  had  been  appoint- 
ed by  the  committee  temporary  state  chairman  for 
Illinois,  called  a  meeting  of  representatives  of  wom- 
en's organizations  in  the  Assembly  Hall  of  the  Fine 
Arts  Building,  in  Chicago,  where  the  delegates  were 
guests  of  the  Chicago  Women's  Club.  This  meeting 
was  largely  attended,  and  was  full  of  inspiration. 
Although  the  work  of  organizing  the  women  of  Amer- 
ica for  war  work  had  scarcely  begun,  the  record  of 
that  meeting  shows  that  the  speakers  had  a  clear 
grasp  of  the  situation,  that  their  viewpoint  was  a 
national  one,  and  that  they  appreciated  the  weight  of 
the  responsibility  that  the  Government  had  placed  on 
the  shoulders  of  its  women. 

Illinois  was  particularly  fortunate  in  having 
actively  enlisted  in  the  work  of  taking  a  census  Miss 
Irene  Warren,  one  of  the  best  known  filing  and  in- 
dex experts  in  the  world  of  women  workers.  Miss 
Warren  developed  a  card  index  system,  the  value  of 
which  has  been  inestimable  to  the  women  of  Illinois 
in  their  work  of  registration.  Other  states  in  which 
this  phase  of  the  work  has  not  been  thoroughly  sys- 
tematized would  do  well  to  consult  the  Illinois  women 
who  did  the  work  for  that  state. 

Of  particular  interest  has  been  the  work  of  Miss 
Isabelle  Bevier  as  chairman  of  the  Department  of 
Conservation.    Under   Miss   Bevier 's   expert   leader- 

257 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ship  the  women  of  Illinois  have  responded  almost 
unanimously  to  the  call  to  conserve,  and  while  it  is 
too  early  to  give  an  estimate  of  concrete  results  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  in  no  state  in  the  Union  has  the  work 
of  conservation  been  conducted  more  intelligently  and 
with  better  results.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Illi- 
nois women  held  in  the  interest  of  defense  work,  Dr. 
Harry  Ward,  professor  of  Zoology  in  the  University 
of  Illinois,  and  also  expert  for  the  Bureau  of  Fish- 
eries, called  forth  from  the  women  enthusiastic  ap- 
plause when  he  said:  **The  waste  that  is  most  con- 
spicuous in  food  is  where  women  are  not  in  charge. 
In  large  hotels,  in  any  big  hotel,  in  the  city  of  Chica- 
go, we  have  heard  recently  of  the  enormous  quantity 
of  food  that  was  absolutely  destroyed,  and  we  have  all 
seen  it.  That  waste  and  destruction  does  not  occur 
in  the  kitchens  of  the  homes  where  women  are  in 
charge.  I  believe  that  in  hotels,  the  chefs  who  con- 
trol that  thing  are  of  the  sex  to  which  I  belong.*' 

Illinois  has  been  fortunate  also  in  the  choice  of  its 
publicity  committee,  with  Miss  Mary  Waller  as  chair- 
man. Other  members  of  the  committee  are  repre- 
sentatives of  six  daily  papers,  and  the  committee  has 
done  its  work  in  the  most  practical  and  effective  way. 

From  the  beginning  of  v/omen's  defense  work  in 
Illinois  a  number  of  women  of  national  prominence 
have  been  actively  associated  with  the  work  as  volun- 
teers. These  include  Miss  Sophronisba  Breckenridge, 
of  the  School  of  Civics  and  Philanthropy,  University 
of  Chicago ;  Dr.  Rachelle  Yarros,  widely  knovm  as  an 
expert  in  Social  Hygiene,  chairman  of  the  Health  and 
Recreation  Division;  and  Mrs.  Antoinette  Funk,  a 
member  of  the  National  Women's  Committee  of  the 

258 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Council  of  Defense  and  national  chairman  of  the  Lib- 
erty Loan  Committee. 

The  organization  in  Illinois  has  been  very  thorough. 
The  work  has  been  done  by  districts  as  that  of  the 
Federated  Clubs  is  done.  In  the  city  of  Chicago 
there  are  ten  districts.  ]\Iiss  Spafford,  president  of 
the  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  has  done 
exceptionally  fine  work  in  organizing  the  women  of 
the  twenty-five  congressional  districts. 

Mrs.  Dunlap  Smith  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  Home  Charities  has  done  exceptionally  effective 
work,  especially  in  coordinating  the  various  agencies 
at  work  in  the  interest  of  Home  Charities.  One  of 
the  first  things  Mrs.  Smith  did  was  to  send  out  a 
questionnaire  to  nearly  two  hundred  local  charities. 
The  answers  were  classified  and  kept  on  file  and 
formed  a  basis  for  very  effective  future  work.  A 
Bureau  of  Social  Service  was  established  at  registra- 
tion quarters,  60  East  Madison  Street,  where  a 
trained  social  worker,  familiar  with  the  whole  social 
field,  is  director  of  the  volunteer  service  department. 

While  it  is  impossible  to  discriminate  or  to  say 
that  the  work  of  one  committee  has  been  better  or- 
ganized, or  has  brought  more  results  than  another,  it 
is  probably  not  unfair  to  give  especial  mention  to  the 
work  of  the  Committee  on  Courses  and  Instruction, 
of  which  Mrs.  Hefferan  was  made  chairman.  Chi- 
cago's large  foreign  population  presented  one  of  the 
most  vital  problems  which  had  to  be  faced  by  the 
women.  The  committee  in  charge  of  this  work  went 
about  it  with  the  highest  degree  of  efficiency,  and 
there  has  probably  not  been  a  day  since  war  was  de- 
clared that  the  Chicago  newspapers  have  not  carried 

259 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

stories  of  what  happened  at  the  night  schools — these 
stories  being  so  full  of  human  interest  that  they  could 
not  escape  notice.  Any  woman  who  wished  to  in- 
crease her  efficiency  or  to  fit  herself  for  work  for 
which  she  had  no  training  could  find  instruction  and 
a  fine  spirit  of  encouragement  to  stimulate  her  in- 
terest. There  is  in  fact  no  line  of  work  in  which  the 
best  training  is  not  given. 

The  first  thing  undertaken  by  the  committee  was 
the  collection  of  instruction  courses  offered  by  agen- 
cies already  at  work,  such  as  the  Red  Cross,  the  School 
of  Domestic  Science,  public  schools,  and  the  School  of 
Civics  and  Philanthropy,  where  they  offered  a  special 
course  in  war  relief  work.  The  School  of  Domestic 
Science  offers  a  course  in  dietetics  and  economical 
food  cooking,  and  the  Chicago  Women's  Club  offered 
an  excellent  course  in  economical  cooking  and 
thrift. 

The  public  schools  of  Chicago  did  a  unique  bit  of 
patriotic  work.  The  Board  of  Education  gave  per- 
mission for  the  domestic  science  classes  to  be  kept 
open  during  the  summer,  and  the  domestic  science 
teachers'  salary  was  paid  by  the  Board  of  Education. 
Wherever  as  many  as  twenty  women  would  enroll  the 
Board  of  Education  supplied  the  domestic  science 
class  and  the  domestic  science  teacher  for  a  course  of 
cooking  and  canning  along  the  lines  suggested  by  Mr. 
Hoover.  The  Board  of  Education  also  gave  permis- 
sion that  where  as  many  as  twenty  immigrant  moth- 
ers could  be  gathered  together  in  a  school  and  an 
interpreter  provided,  the  domestic  science  teacher 
would  give  free  lessons  in  economical  cooking.  The 
Immigrant  Board    furnished    interpreters    and    the 

260 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

women  interested  themselves  in  arranging  the 
groups. 

The  Navy  League  conducted  classes  in  motor  driv- 
ing under  Miss  Spofford,  and  in  a  short  time  women 
were  actually  in  service  running  from  eight  to  ten 
cars  a  day. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  praise  of  the  Ked 
Cross  work  in  Illinois,  under  the  chairmanship  of 
Mrs.  Philip  Schuyler  Doane.  At  the  first  meeting  of 
the  Women's  Defense  Committee  in  Chicago,  in  June, 
1917,  ]\Irs.  Doane  reported  that  since  February  more 
than  eight  thousand  women  had  enrolled  in  Red  Cross 
courses  in  the  City  of  Chicago  alone,  and  that  ap- 
proximately eighteen  thousand  women  had  become  in- 
terested in  Red  Cross  work  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war. 

Mrs.  Russell  Tyson  was  made  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  Allied  Relief,  which  has  also  done  superb 
work.  The  organizations  actively  enlisted  in  Allied 
Relief  Work  in  Chicago  include  The  British  Isles, 
Daughters  of  the  British  Empire;  Canadian  Red 
Cross ;  Committee  for  the  Relief  in  Belgium ;  A.  B.  F. 
B.  Fund;  Italian  Relief;  American  Fund  for  French 
Wounded;  Fatherless  Children  of  France;  Secours 
Nationale ;  French  Red  Cross ;  Children  of  the  Fron- 
tier; American  Field  Ambulance  Service;  American 
Ambulance  Hospital ;  Mary  Borden-Turner  Hospital ; 
Appui  Aux  Artistes;  Franco-American  Committee; 
Servian  Relief;  Polish  Relief;  Russian  Relief;  Jap- 
anese Relief;  organizations  for  relief  in  Roumania, 
Armenia,  Bohemia  and  Slovak. 

No  question  growing  out  of  the  war  gave  more  con- 
cern to  the  Illinois    women  than    that    concerning 

261 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

women  and  children  in  industry.  If  this  problem 
seemed  to  loom  large  and  to  present  many  complica- 
tions in  Illinois  that  were  not  encountered  in  other 
states,  that  state  was  particularly  fortunate  in  having 
as  one  of  its  citizens,  and  as  an  active  worker  in  the 
Woman's  Defense  Committee,  Mrs.  Raymond  Rob- 
ins, who  was  made  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Women  and  Children  in  Industry.  There  is  prob- 
ably no  woman  in  America  who  was  better  qualified 
to  act  in  this  capacity.  Mrs.  Addison  W.  Moore  was 
made  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Children  in  In- 
dustry; Miss  Jessie  Binford,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Children  in  Agriculture;  Miss  Mary  Mc- 
Dowell, chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Born 
Women ;  Miss  Catherine  Taylor,  chairman  of  Commit- 
tee on  Industrial  Readjustments;  Miss  Edith  Wyatt, 
chairman  of  Committee  on  Enforcement  of  Labor 
Laws.  These  various  committees  have  fulfilled  the 
heavy  obligations  imposed  on  them  with  a  fine  and  pa- 
triotic spirit,  and  while  the  difficulties  have  been 
great  the  results  have  far  more  than  compensated  for 
those  difficulties. 


CHAPTER  XX 

INDIANA,  IOWA,  KANSAS  AND  KENTUCKY 

Registration  first  consideration  of  Indiana  women — 
Market  exchange  to  be  operated  permanently — Inter- 
esting things  happen  in  Iowa — Kansas  organized  along 
practical  lines — Women  of  "Blue  Grass  States"  among 
first  to  report  perfect  and  active  organization — Edu- 
cational work  a  feature. 

Indiana.  Women's  activities  in  connection  with 
the  Indiana  State  Council  of  Defense  have  been  va- 
ried and  full  of  interest.  The  first  important  work 
undertaken  was  the  enrollment  of  women,  according 
to  their  experience  and  willingness  to  serve  in  case 
there  should  arise  an  emergency  demanding  women's 
services.  Very  soon  after  its  organization  the  In- 
diana Women 's  Committee  formed  a  unit  for  knitting 
socks  for  soldiers,  and  organized  the  entire  state, 
furnishing  four  thousand  pairs  of  socks  for  Indiana 
soldiers  in  the  first  call ;  this  work  has  continued  and 
all  sorts  of  soldiers'  comforts  are  included  in  the 
articles  made.  Through  cooperation  with  the  Red 
Cross  the  Committee  established  local  first  aid  classes, 
through  which  hundreds  of  Indiana  women  have  qual- 
ified for  relief  work.  The  Committee  did  valuable 
work  in  connection  with  the  sale  of  Liberty  Loan 
bonds,  and  later  effected  a  cooperative  plan  with  the 
United  States  government  supply  depot  for  making 
shirts  for  soldiers. 

263 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Indiana  did  her  full  share  in  food  production  and 
conservation,  arranging  demonstrations  for  canning 
in  cooperation  with  the  domestic  science  department 
of  Purdue  university.  The  Committee  instructed 
thousands  of  Indiana  women  in  the  cold  pack  process, 
after  securing  the  signatures  for  thousands  of  "can- 
ning cards,"  pledging  housewives  to  extra  canning, 
etc.  A  market  place  for  the  surplus  of  fruits  and 
vegetables  that  have  been  conserved  in  Indiana  was 
planned  to  be  operated  as  a  permanent  exchange. 

Through  County  Councils,  Franchise  Leagues, 
Federation  of  Clubs,  etc.,  fifty  thousand  signatures 
were  secured  to  "Hoover  cards''  and  aid  was  pledged 
in  increasing  this  figure  to  one  million.  Many  lead- 
ing women  volunteered  for  educational  work  of  a  pa- 
triotic nature,  and  made  themselves  available  for  in- 
struction, addresses,  etc.,  where  such  work  was  found 
needful  and  necessary. 

In  many  instances  Indiana  women  cheerfully  gave 
up  their  usual  social  activities  in  order  to  be  available 
for  Red  Cross  or  other  work  for  the  soldiers;  and  al- 
most without  exception,  the  women's  clubs,  as  a  con- 
servation measure,  made  the  usual  extravagant 
luncheons  taboo. 

The  women's  organization  cooperated  with  the  or- 
ganizers of  the  United  States  Boys'  Working  Reserve, 
believing  that  this  increased  force  for  productive 
labor  would  be  of  assistance  in  increasing  the  food 
supply,  thus  reducing  the  high  cost  of  living  and 
helping  to  meet  the  extraordinary  demand  for  the 
armies  of  America  and  her  allies,  and  the  starving 
civilian  population  of  our  European  allies.  The 
women  rendered  a  particularly  valuable  service  in  ex- 

264 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

ercising  special  precautions  against  disease  and  con- 
tagion, as  practical  conservation,  and  in  order  that 
the  demand  for  physicians  might  be  minimized  so  that 
an  increased  number  of  medical  men  might  be  re- 
leased for  the  federal  army.  These  energetic  and  pa- 
triotic women  also  made  possible  the  elimination  of 
the  practice  of  returning  unsold  bread,  by  placing 
orders  far  enough  ahead  to  allow  retailers  to  estimate 
accurately  their  demands. 

Mrs.  Anne  Studebaker  Carlisle  is  chairman  of  the 
"Woman's  Section  of  the  State  Council  of  Defense, 
and  chairmen  of  the  committees  are :  Enrollment 
and  Women's  Service,  Miss  Julia  E.  Landers;  Food 
Production,  Mrs.  Jennie  M.  Conrad,  Conrad;  Home 
Economics,  Miss  Mary  Matthews,  LaFayette;  Child 
"Welfare,  Mrs.  Albion  Fellows  Bacon,  Evansville; 
"Women  in  Industry,  Miss  Mabelle  Maney,  Indian- 
apolis; Health  and  Recreation,  Mrs.  George  C.  Hill, 
Indianapolis;  Food  Conservation,  Mrs.  Carl  G.  Fish- 
er, Indianapolis;  Liberty  Loan,  Mrs.  Fred  McCul- 
loch,  Fort  Wayne ;  Red  Cross,  Mrs.  Jessie  H.  Stutes- 
man,  Crawf ordsville ;  Social  Service,  Miss  Vida  Bew- 
son,  Columbus;  Education,  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Blaker,  In- 
dianapolis. 

Iowa.  Those  charged  with  the  task  of  organizing 
the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National 
Defense  of  Iowa  realized  at  an  early  date  that  the 
very  work  of  organization  itself  might  be  made  an 
end  as  well  as  a  means,  and  in  a  large  proportion  of 
the  counties  the  meetings  called  for  forming  local 
chapters  were  made  patriotic  occasions  which  called 
together  the  women  of  every  class,  race  and  creed. 
They  were,  in  themselves,  demonstrations  of  demo- 

265 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

cratic  feeling  and  patriotism  which  meant  much  to 
their  communities.  In  many  counties,  patriotic 
meetings  with  speakers  from  near  by  cities  were  held 
in  every  school  district  of  the  county.  The  move- 
ment for  holding  the  patriotic  meetings  has  been  in 
the  opinion  of  many,  the  most  distinctive  phase  of 
Iowa's  work.  The  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Patriotic  IMeetings  is  Miss  Alice  French  of  Daven- 
port, better  known  as  Octave  Thanet,  the  novelist, 
who  has  devoted  herself  with  all  her  resources  of 
influence  and  wealth  to  this  work.  Miss  French  is 
the  Regent  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  Iowa  and  this 
patriotic  society  together  with  the  D.  A.  R.,  has  been 
especially  in  charge  of  this  work,  the  value  of  which 
can  scarcely  be  estimated.  Miss  French  has  been  par- 
ticularly successful  in  holding  meetings  in  sections  of 
the  state  where  there  is  a  large  German  population, 
having  enlisted  as  one  of  her  best  speakers  the  editor 
of  one  of  the  largest  German  newspapers,  who  is  aid- 
ing in  setting  forth  the  duties  of  the  German- Ameri- 
can citizen  at  this  time. 

Mrs.  Gebhard,  who  is  the  Regent  of  the  State  D.  A. 
R.,  has  been  carrying  on  the  work  of  holding  meetings 
in  connection  with  the  county  fairs.  Arrangements 
were  made  for  patriotic  rallies  to  be  held  in  every 
county  of  the  state. 

The  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Education,  Miss 
Leona  Call,  sent  out  an  appeal  to  all  domestic  science 
teachers  in  the  colleges  and  schools,  to  make  a  spe- 
cialty of  teaching  the  preparation  of  the  foods  recom- 
mended by  the  Federal  Food  Administration  and  es- 
pecially that  they  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity 
this  will  give  for  patriotic  instruction,  explaining  to 

266 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

their  pupils  why  these  things  are  necessary,  why  our 
country  is  at  war,  the  suffering  in  Europe,  etc.  It  is 
believed  that  by  this  means,  instruction  not  only  in 
habits  of  thrift  but  in  patriotism  and  loyalty  to  our 
government  will  be  taken  into  many  homes  not  other- 
wise accessible. 

This  committee  has  also  appealed  to  teachers  every- 
where to  give  patriotic  instruction  and  patriotic  pro- 
grams in  the  school,  using  the  new  and  modern  litera- 
ture of  patriotism,  such  as  Secretary  Lane's  ''Address 
on  the  Flag";  part  of  President  Wilson's  war  mes- 
sage, etc.  It  is  believed  that  they  will  thus  bring 
home  to  the  pupils  and,  through  them  to  their  parents, 
the  fact  that  each  one  has  a  personal  interest  in  this 
war. 

The  chairman  of  the  Iowa  Division,  Mrs.  Francis 
E.  Whitley,  sent  to  every  college  in  the  state  a  request 
to  the  girls  to  secure  from  their  own  acquaintance,  as 
many  signatures  as  possible  to  the  food  pledge  cards, 
each  one  writing  to  her  own  home  town  and  giving 
thus,  not  only  help  to  the  campaign,  but  an  evidence 
of  her  own  loyal  interest.  She  also  sent  a  letter  to 
each  of  the  rural  clubs,  of  which  Iowa  has  a  very  large 
number,  asking  them  not  only  to  circulate  the  food 
pledge  cards  in  their  own  neighborhoods,  but  to  hold 
patriotic  meetings,  using  the  songs  of  our  country — 
the  songs  which  our  soldiers  are  singing  in  the  camps 
— and  giving  a  distinctively  patriotic  tone  to  the  gath- 
erings in  their  community  centers. 

The  Iowa  Division  made  an  especial  effort  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  safeguarding  the  conditions  around 
the  great  cantonment  at  Des  Moines.  Mrs.  Harold  R. 
Howells,  the  chairman  of  the  Health  and  Recreation 

267 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Committee,  with  the  aid  of  the  women  of  the  Des 
Moines  unit  especially  cooperated  with  the  agents  sent 
out  by  the  Committee  from  the  War  Department  in 
meeting  this  great  and  imperative  need. 

A  letter  was  sent  to  the  newspapers  of  every  county 
in  the  state  and  to  every  county  chairman,  asking  that 
the  women  in  each  locality  take  steps  to  see  that  no 
girl  who  leaves  home  seeking  employment  in  Des 
Moines  shall  go  without  notifying  either  the  local 
Woman's  Committee  or  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  so  that  she 
may  be  met  and  sheltered  until  some  suitable  place 
to  live  can  be  secured. 

The  Iowa  Division  sent  an  appeal  to  the  colleges 
asking  that  all  social  functions  be  simplified;  that 
every  form  of  extravagance  and  display  be  eliminated 
as  unsuited  to  a  time  like  this;  they  are  asked  to  do 
this  as  a  patriotic  offering  to  their  country  and  to 
demonstrate  that  they  share  in  the  heroic  ideals  of 
their  college  brothers  who  have  gone,  or  are  going,  to 
the  field  of  battle.  The  students  are  voting  to  comply 
with  this  request,  giving  up  *' Junior  Proms '*  and 
using  money  for  Red  Cross  and  other  patriotic  work. 

Several  of  the  local  branches  interested  themselves 
in  local  community  cellars,  for  the  benefit  of  those 
having  none.  The  women  at  one  county  seat  gave  a 
conservation  festival,  the  proceeds  of  which  went 
to  buy  sugars,  jars,  etc.,  for  those  who  could  not  af- 
ford to  buy  them. 

In  carrying  on  the  food  pledge  campaign  in  Iowa 
it  was  necessary  to  deny  frequently  many  stories  that 
had  been  industriously  circulated.  The  most  com- 
mon of  these  was  that  those  signing  these  cards  will 
have  their  canned  fruit  and  vegetables  confiscated  by 

268 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

the  government  agents.  One  of  the  cheering  illustra- 
tions of  genuine  patriotism,  however,  was  brought  out 
by  this  rumor.  In  Webster  County  when  the  workers 
from  the  woman's  committee  was  securing  pledges, 
they  asked  one  housewife  for  her  signature  and  were 
surprised  and  touched  when,  after  signing  promptly, 
she  asked  very  honestly  if  she  would  know  when  the 
man  from  the  government  was  coming  as  she  was 
canning  and  preserving  all  she  could  so  that  she 
would  have  her  share  ready.  Truly  this  patriotic 
Scandinavian  woman  sets  an  example  to  some  native 
Americans. 

Iowa  women  have  helped  most  efficiently  in  promot- 
ing the  Liberty  Loan,  especially  in  influencing  women, 
women's  organizations,  Sunday  Schools,  young  peo- 
ple's religious  societies,  etc.,  to  invest.  In  Dubuque  a 
leaflet  with  questions  and  answers  was  compiled  by 
the  Woman's  Committee  canvassers. 

The  officers  of  the  Iowa  Woman's  Committee  are: 
chairman,  Mrs.  Francis  E.  Whitley,  Webster  City; 
vice-chairman,  Mrs.  F.  J.  Mansfield,  Burlington ;  vice- 
chairman,  Mrs.  H.  W.  Spaulding,  Grinnell ;  secretary, 
Miss  Catherine  J.  Mackay,  Ames;  treasurer,  Mrs.  C. 
H.  Norris,  Des  Moines;  auditor,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Watzek, 
Davenport;  Registration,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Morris,  Des 
Moines;  Conservation,  Miss  Catherine  J.  Mackay, 
Ames ;  Child  Welfare,  Dr.  Lenna  Meanes,  Des  Moines ; 
Education,  Miss  Leona  Call,  Webster  City;  Liberty 
Loan,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Marsh,  Waterloo;  Patriotic,  Miss 
Alice  French,  Davenport. 

Kansas.  Kansas  is  very  fortunate  in  having  as  its 
chairman  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense,  Mrs.  David  W.  Mulvane,  of  To- 

269 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

peka.  In  organizing  the  state  Mrs.  Mulvane  has  fol- 
lowed the  plan  of  having  a  small  committee,  and  effi- 
ciency is  the  watchword  of  this  compact  and  very  ef- 
fective organization.  The  first  thing  done  by  the 
committee  after  it  was  organized  was  to  begin  a  regis- 
tration of  the  women,  and  later,  under  Mrs.  Mulvane 's 
supervision,  there  was  a  food  conservation  campaign. 
Kansas  is  organized  by  counties,  cities,  wards  and  pre- 
cincts. Mrs.  Mulvane  conceived  the  idea  of  an  *' all- 
woman's  parade"  in  various  cities  of  Kansas  and  the 
first  of  these  was  held  with  pronounced  success  in 
Topeka,  preceding  the  meeting  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic.  The  fine  example  set  by  the  women  of 
Topeka  was  soon  followed  by  those  of  other  Kansas 
cities.  The  Kansas  newspapers  have  been  very  cor- 
dial in  their  support  of  all  the  undertakings  of  the 
Woman's  Committee.  The  clubs  of  the  state,  in  the 
main,  have  cooperated  under  the  Woman 's  Committee. 
Kansas  has  given  very  generously  in  men  and  money. 
A  Red  Cross  sanitary  corps  of  eighty  men  was  re- 
cruited entirely  in  Parsons,  Kansas,  and  this  is  ex- 
pressive of  the  patriotism  of  the  entire  state.  Al- 
though Kansas  was  late  in  organizing,  a  great  deal 
has  been  accomplished  and  emphasis  is  being  placed 
on  the  ten  departments  of  work  suggested  by  the 
Woman's  Committee.  The  scheme  of  organization  is 
a  sound  one  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  Mrs.  Mul- 
vane and  her  associates  have  built  on  a  solid  founda- 
tion for  permanent  future  work. 

Kentucky.  The  women  of  the  ''Blue  Grass  State*' 
had  a  high  standard  to  reach  in  their  war  work,  for  in 
no  state  have  the  women  put  more  enthusiasm  into 
their  efforts  nor  worked  to  better  purpose  than  have 

270 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

the  women  in  Kentucky.  The  clubs  of  the  state  have 
distinguished  themselves  in  various  ways  and  on  many 
occasions.  The  State  Suffrage  Association,  with  such 
leaders  as  i\Iiss  Laura  Clay  and  Mrs.  Desha  Breck- 
enridge,  blazed  the  way  for  aggressive  steps  in  the 
South  for  political  recognition  of  women  by  securing 
for  their  state  ''school  suffrage,"  despite  seemingly 
insurmountable  difficulties.  When  the  call  from  the 
National  Government  reached  Kentucky  it  found  the 
women  of  that  state  trained,  organized,  and  ready  for 
service.  Mrs.  Helen  Bruce,  of  Louisville,  Chairman 
for  Kentuck}^,  has  proved  herself  a  worthy  leader  of 
one  of  America's  best  trained  groups  of  women.  To 
her  able  leadership  much  of  the  success  of  the  unit  in 
Kentuckj^  is  due. 

The  personnel  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  Ken- 
tucky is  in  itself  a  guarantee  of  success  in  anything 
the  Committee  might  undertake.  Mrs.  Patty  B.  Sem- 
ple,  the  vice-chairman,  has  been  prominent  in  Ken- 
tucky club  circles  for  many  years  and  is  an  educator 
of  note.  Mrs.  Richard  T.  Lowndes,  another  member 
of  the  Committee,  is  president  of  the  State  Federation 
of  Women's  Clubs,  and  Mrs.  Gilmer  S.  Adams  is 
president  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  Kentucky,  and 
both  women  are  charming  representatives  of  the  ad- 
mirable type  of  able,  high-bom  southern  women. 
Mrs.  Richard  D.  Drakow  was  formerly  president  of 
an  influential  club  and  is  prominent  among  the  Jew- 
ish women  of  the  state.  The  recording  and  corre- 
sponding secretaries,  Mrs.  William  Gazley  Hamilton 
and  Mrs.  ]\Iarvin  Lewis,  have  done  a  great  deal  of 
work  in  organizing  the  state — a  task  that  seemed  at 
first  almost  impossible,  in  the  face  of  so  many  diffi- 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

culties.  The  treasurer,  Mrs.  Alex.  G.  Barret,  is  an- 
other woman  of  unusual  ability.  Mrs.  J.  William 
Jefferson,  who  is  chairman  of  Registration,  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  the  State  Home  for  Incurables 
and  former  state  president  of  the  King's  Daughters. 
Mrs.  Jefferson  is  a  woman  of  much  executive  ability 
and  her  work  has  been  conspicuously  successful. 
Kentucky  is  fortunate  in  having  as  chairman  of  its 
Food  Production  and  Home  Economics  Work  Miss 
Mary  E.  Sweeney,  Dean  of  the  Home  Economics  De- 
partment of  the  State  University  at  Lexington.  Mrs. 
Morris  Gifford,  who  gives  part  of  her  time  to  the 
State  Food  Administrator  for  Kentucky,  is  chairman 
for  Food  Administration  of  the  Woman's  Committee 
and  did  a  highly  successful  work  in  the  distribution 
of  the  Hoover  pledges.  Mrs.  R.  P.  Halleck  is  chair- 
man for  Women  in  Industry.  She  is  president  of  the 
Consumer's  League  of  Kentucky  and  of  the  City  Club 
of  Louisville.  Mrs.  Halleck  has  been  closely  asso- 
ciated with  all  movements  in  Kentucky  for  the  better- 
ment of  working  conditions  among  women  and  chil- 
dren. The  chairman  for  Child  Welfare  is  Mrs. 
Harry  Bishop,  who  has  given  her  entire  time  for  a 
number  of  years  to  the  cause  of  young  girls  who  pass 
through  the  juvenile  court,  and  to  the  effort  to  es- 
tablish a  state  training  school  for  delinquent  girls. 
Mrs.  Bishop  has  done  a  beautiful  and  commendable 
work  in  establishing  a  Patriotic  League  among  the 
girls  who  are  especially  stirred  by  the  presence  of 
fifty  thousand  soldiers  in  cantonments  near  Louisville. 
Mrs.  George  Flournoy  and  Mrs.  Herbert  Mengel  are 
joint  chairmen  for  Education  and  both  have  ability 
that  especially  fits  them  for  this  work.    Mrs.  Mengel 

272 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

having  been  president  of  the  Suffrage  Association  of 
Kentucky.  Dr.  Alice  Pickett,  a  leading  physician, 
is  chairman  for  Health  and  Recreation,  and  Mrs. 
Donald  McDonald  for  Liberty  Loan,  and  both  women 
are  admirably  fitted  for  the  positions  to  which  they 
have  been  appointed.  Mrs.  Aubrey  Cassar  is  chair- 
man of  Publicity  and  Mrs.  Thruston  Ballard,  of  the 
Louisville  Red  Cross  Chapter,  is  chairman  for  Red 
Cross  and  Allied  Relief.  The  honorary  chairmen  are 
women  of  distinction,  Mrs.  Luke  P.  Blackburn,  Mrs. 
A.  M.  Harrison,  and  Mrs.  A.  0.  Stanley,  wife  of  the 
Governor.  With  such  a  committee  it  goes  without 
saying  that  Kentucky  stands  in  the  front  ranks. 

The  Kentucky  women  went  about  organizing  the 
state  systematically,  appointing  a  woman  in  every 
county  seat.  By  fall  of  1917  thirty-eight  counties 
had  started  work  and  the  cities  of  Lexington,  Frank- 
fort, Hopkinsville,  Springfield,  Ashland  and  Louis- 
ville had  been  organized. 

Food  conservation  work  was  carried  on  with  the 
cooperation  of  the  State  Agricultural  College.  The 
extension  worker  who  carried  the  pledge  cards  into  the 
mountain  districts  reported  that  the  women  of  those 
districts  were  much  interested.  She  said  they  were 
greatly  pleased  that  they  had  been  included  and  were 
happy  that  there  was  something  that  they  could  do 
for  the  Government. 

Kentucky  was  especially  well  organized  for  canning 
and  drying.  One  interesting  experiment  was  tried 
with  groups  of  girls  working  under  the  extension  de- 
partment. These  girls  picked  great  quantities  of  wild 
blackberries,  and  the  business  men  advanced  the 
money  for  sugar,  containers,  etc.,  and  gave  the  ser- 

273 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

vices  of  helpers  in  handling  and  shipping  the  finished 
product,  which  was  sold  through  the  Woman's  Ex- 
change. 

An  interesting  phase  of  the  work  in  Kentucky  was 
a  series  of  patriotic  meetings  held  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts. These  meetings  were  opened  with  canning  lec- 
tures and  demonstrations  held  in  the  late  afternoon, 
and  these  were  followed  by  speeches,  patriotic  sing- 
ing, drills,  etc. 

The  Kentucky  women  believe  that  practical  training 
for  young  women  should  be  extended  as  widely  as 
possible,  and  they  have  done  everything  within  their 
power  to  encourage  girls  to  take  training  as  nurses, 
and  to  learn  stenography,  typewriting,  etc.  It  is 
planned  to  make  use  of  the  registration  of  the  woman 
power  of  the  state  to  secure  women  to  go  to  county 
seats  to  teach  various  branches  which  might  be  in 
demand. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
LOUISIANA,  MICHIGAN  AND  OTHER  STATES 

Louisiana  governor  issues  proclamation  making  regis- 
tration of  women  compulsory — Defense  work  in  Maine 
— Existing  organizations  in  Maryland  form  woman's 
committee — Results  amazing — Admirable  plan  of  or- 
ganization adopted  in  Massachusetts — What  Boston  has 
done — Michigan  women  help  save  cherry  crop — Way- 
side markets  established — Lavish  use  of  posters  proved 
effective — Meals  for  soldiers. 

Louisiana.  Louisiana  is  the  only  state  where  the 
registration  of  women  was  made  compulsory.  Gov- 
ernor Ruffin  G.  Pleasant  issued  a  proclamation  fixing 
October  17,  1917,  as  "registration  day  in  Louisiana 
for  women."  As  this  is  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  this  country  that  such  a  proclamation  has  been 
issued,  the  full  text  of  the  proclamation  is  interesting. 
It  follows : 

Whereas,  by  Act  of  Congress  a  Council  of  National 
Defense  has  been  established  in  the  interest  of  national  se- 
curity and  welfare;  and 

Whereas,  this  council  deems  it  wise  and  essential  to  se- 
cure a  census  of  woman  power  of  the  nation — which  census 
shall  serve  to  inform  the  government: 

(1)  as  to  the  present  state  of  preparedness  of  women 
along  industrial  lines; 

(2)  as  to  the  training  that  is  desired  by  those  wishing  to 

275 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

equip  themselves  for  industrial,  philanthropic,  or  social 
service ; 

(3)  as  to  those  who  are  home-makers,  and  who,  by  regis- 
tering, automatically  place  themselves  in  a  position  to  be 
reached  by  the  Council  of  National  Defense  when  its  pro- 
gram demands  their  cooperation; 

(4)  as  to  actual  service,  volunteer  or  for  remuneration, 
that  may  or  may  not  be  counted  upon  in  time  of  emergency ; 
and, 

Whereas,  on  account  of  the  fact  that  this  information 
will  be  of  great  permanent  value  to  the  government,  the 
Council  of  National  Defense  has  asked  that  the  aforemen- 
tioned census  be  taken  state  by  state;  and. 

Whereas,  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  has 
empowered  the  State  Council  of  Defense  to  require  such  a 
registration;  and, 

Whereas,  the  State  Council  of  Defense  had  decreed  and 
required  that  such  a  census  be  taken  under  the  personal 
supervision  of  the  Governor  of  Louisiana, 

Now    THEREFORE,    I,    RUFFIN    G.    PLEASANT,    Govemor    of 

the  State  of  Louisiana,  do  hereby  proclaim  WEDNESDAY, 
Oct.  17th,  1917,  as  REGISTRATION  DAY  in  the  State 
of  Louisiana,  and  do  hereby  require  that,  on  the  above  ap- 
pointed day,  every  woman  in  Louisiana  of  the  age  of  six- 
teen complete  or  more,  shall  appear  at  the  registration 
booth  in  her  political  precinct  to  register  such  information 
as  the  State  Council  of  Defense  requires. 

In  TESTIMONY  WHEREOF,  I  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
cause  to  be  affixed  the  great  seal  of  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
at  the  Capitol,  in  the  City  of  Baton  Rouge,  on  this  the 
fourteenth  day  of  September,  1917. 
By  the  Governor: 

(Signed)        R.  G.  Pleasant, 
(Signed)        James   J.   Bailey, 

Secretary  of  State. 


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STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  registration  being  entirely  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Governor,  the  entire  corps  of  state  of- 
cials  actively  cooperated  with  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee. The  State  Food  Commission  also  cooperated  and 
registration  and  food  pledges  were  signed  the  same 
day.  The  State  School  Board  granted  a  holiday  in 
honor  of  the  unusual  event,  as  the  school  authorities 
felt  that  there  was  urgent  need  of  the  assistance  of 
the  teachers,  especially  in  the  rural  districts.  Women 
to  the  number  of  six  thousand  were  officially 
commissioned  to  conduct  the  registration  and  they 
worked  in  cooperation  with  the  state  Food  Conser- 
vation officials  and  the  parish  Demonstration 
Agents. 

In  the  French  sections  of  the  state  the  priests  ren- 
dered a  valuable  assistance  to  the  women  by  person- 
ally appealing  to  their  parishioners.  Hand  bills  were 
printed  in  French,  house  to  house  canvass  was  made ; 
speeches  were  delivered  in  picture  shows,  school- 
houses,  courthouses,  churches,  and  city  halls.  Every- 
where the  women  met  with  cordial  response.  Even 
the  negroes  were  quite  alive  to  the  situation,  meeting 
sometimes  with  the  white  people  and  sometimes  at  the 
call  of  their  own  pastors.  The  Committee  sought  the 
cooperation  of  the  churches  of  all  denominations  and 
letters  were  sent  out  to  all  pastors  asking  them  to 
speak  to  their  people  from  their  pulpits. 

"If  you  know  Louisiana,"  one  of  the  Committee 
members  said,  ''with  her  marvelously  beautiful  tracts 
of  rich  but  almost  untouched  land,  her  Cajan  parishes, 
her  natural  indolence,  and  her  reluctance  to  be  in- 
veigled into  any  'northern  scheme' — above  all  her 
difficulty  in  realizing  that  beyond  her  own  gorgeous 
greenness  and  resourcefulness  there  is  the  stark  hor- 

277 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ror  of  war — ^you  will  understand  the  difficulties  of  our 
work.  But  in  spite  of  these  difficulties  and  because 
of  the  splendid  reports  coming  in  from  our  chair- 
man every  day,  we,  in  Committee  headquarters,  are 
feeling  confident  of  success." 

So  thoroughly  were  the  women  of  Louisiana  alive  to 
their  patriotic  duty  that  within  two  months  after  the 
Woman's  Committee  began  its  operations  every  parish 
(the  parishes  in  Louisiana  correspond  to  counties  in 
other  states)  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  was  organ- 
ized, and  the  fact  that  Louisiana  swamps  are  not  al- 
ways navigable  accounts  for  the  organizations  not 
being  state-wide. 

In  this  state  the  women  worked  very  successfully 
through  the  congressional  districts.  Early  in  the 
work  one  fact  began  to  shine  and  that  was  that  the 
war  work  the  women  were  doing  was  going  to  have 
a  marvelous  effect  on  the  illiterate  element  of  the 
population.  This  alone  would  have  made  every  ef- 
fort more  than  worth  while. 

It  should  be  stated  that  the  expense  of  the  organi- 
zation work  in  Louisiana  was  met  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions and  the  volunteer  spirit  has  been  from  the 
beginning  most  beautiful. 

The  officers  are :  chairman,  Miss  Hilda  Phelps ;  first 
vice-chairman,  Mrs.  J.  D.  Wilkinson;  second  vice- 
chairman,  Mrs.  James  M.  Thomson;  secretary.  Miss 
Bertha  Wolbrette ;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Joseph  E.  Friend ; 
publicity  chairman,  Mrs.  E.  W.  Arny:  Executive 
Committee:  Mrs.  W.  S.  Holmes,  Baton  Rouge;  Mrs. 
H.  B.  Meyers,  New  Orleans;  Mrs.  W.  J.  O'Donnell, 
New  Orleans;   Mrs.   Philip  Werlein,   New  Orleans; 

278 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Mrs.  William  Polk,  Alexandria;  Mrs.  A.  F.  Storm, 
Morgan  City. 

District  chairmen  are:  Mrs.  Wm.  Porteour,  New 
Orleans ;  Mrs.  A.  F.  Storm,  Morgan  City ;  Mrs.  W.  H. 
Fullilove,  Jr.,  Shreveport;  Mrs.  James  R.  Wooten, 
Monroe;  Mrs.  W.  S.  Holmes,  Baton  Rouge;  Mrs.  H. 
B.  Myers,  New  Orleans;  Mrs.  Wm.  Polk,  Alexan- 
dria. 

Maine.  Maine  is  one  of  the  states  in  which  the  new 
war  emergency  organizations  have  not  been  perfected 
promptly.  However,  the  women  of  the  state  indi- 
vidually and  through  the  clubs  and  other  organiza- 
tions are  doing  their  full  share  in  war  work  of  all 
kinds.  Maine  has  been  an  especially  valuable  con- 
tributor to  the  Red  Cross  work  and  through  the  clubs 
has  participated  in  all  lines  of  defense  work.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  at  this  writing  no  formal  report 
of  the  work  of  the  Maine  women  has  been  received  at 
Washington  either  by  the  Woman's  Committee  or  by 
the  National  League  for  Woman's  Service  and  that, 
therefore,  the  report  from  that  state  must  be  limited 
to  this  brief  statement. 

Maryland.  The  story  of  the  war  work  of  Mary- 
land women  is  one  of  absorbing  interest.  The  plan 
of  organization  and  method  of  operation  is  worthy 
of  special  attention  and  may  be  followed  with  profit 
in  other  states. 

The  Women's  Section  of  the  Maryland  Council  of 
Defense  was  formerly  called  the  Women's  Prepared- 
ness and  Survey  Commission  of  Maryland,  having 
been  appointed  by  Governor  Harrington  on  April 
10th,  1917,  for  two  purposes,  viz.:  to  consider  all 
problems  relating   to   women   and   their  work   that 

279 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

might  arise  during  the  war;  and  to  coordinate  the 
work  and  develop  the  resources  of  the  women  of 
Maryland  so  that  their  efforts  in  war  emergency  work 
might  result  in  the  highest  degree  of  efficiency. 

Twenty-six  women,  nearly  all  of  whom  have  been 
active  in  movements  for  social  and  civic  betterment, 
were  appointed  a  State  Commission  to  guide  and  di- 
rect the  work  throughout  the  state,  and  five  women  in 
each  county  were  appointed  a  County  Commission  to 
carry  out  the  plans  outlined  by  the  State  Commission 
in  the  various  counties  as  far  as  could  be  done.  The 
work  in  Baltimore  City,  which  is  not  located  in  any 
county,  is  directed  and  supervised  by  the  main  body. 
Mrs.  Edward  Shoemaker,  of  Baltimore  City,  was  ap- 
pointed state  chairman  by  the  Governor,  Mrs.  Ben- 
jamin Corkran,  Jr.,  vice-chairman,  and  Mrs.  William 
Milnes  Maloy,  secretary. 

On  April  12th,  Mrs.  Shoemaker  called  the  first 
meeting  of  the  State  Commission,  consisting  of 
twenty-six  women,  and  plans  for  organization  and 
work  were  outlined.  Mrs.  Oscar  Leser  of  Baltimore 
was  elected  treasurer,  and  an  executive  board  was 
chosen  consisting  of  the  four  officers  and  three  mem- 
bers of  the  State  Commission  (Mrs.  Franklin  P.  Cator, 
Mrs.  Charles  E.  Ellicott  and  Mrs.  Jacob  M.  Moses). 
Due  to  press  of  duties  connected  with  the  Committee 
on  Recreation  at  Mobilization  Centers,  of  which  Mrs. 
Cator  is  chairman,  and  her  connection  with  the  Y.  W. 
C.  A.  in  Baltimore,  of  which  she  is  president,  she  was 
forced  to  resign  as  a  member  of  the  executive  board, 
and  her  place  was  filled  by  Mrs.  William  Cabell  Bruce, 
of  Ruxton,  Baltimore  County.  State  chairmen  of 
the  various  committees  were  appointed,  each  being 

280 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

selected  by  reason  of  peculiar  fitness  for  the  work  as- 
signed to  her  committee. 

As  soon  as  the  Governor  had  completed  his  appoint- 
ments on  the  county  commissions,  a  meeting  of  the 
county  chairmen  (appointed  as  such  by  Governor 
Harrington)  and  the  State  Commission  was  held. 
This  was  on  May  3rd,  at  which  time,  the  plan  of  or- 
ganization and  work  as  outlined  was  approved,  and 
from  that  time  on,  work  all  over  the  state  has  been 
progressing  rapidly. 

All  war  work  in  Maryland  is  carried  on  in  the  most 
systematic  way.  The  Executive  Board  of  the  State 
Commission  meets  regularly  every  Tuesday  at  10:30 
A.  M.  The  twenty-six  members  of  the  State  Commis- 
sion meet  every  third  Thursday  in  the  month  at  2 
p.  M.  and  a  joint  meeting  of  the  county  chairmen 
and  the  State  Commission  is  an  all  day  meeting,  the 
morning  session  lasting  from  10:00  a.  m.  until  12:30 
p.  M.  and  the  afternoon  session  lasting  from  2  p.  m. 
until  5  p.  M.  Every  three  months,  beginning  with 
the  first  Thursday  in  October,  a  general  meeting  of  all 
members  of  the  Council  throughout  the  state  is  held. 

The  name  of  the  Council  was  changed  by  legislature 
act  to  the  Maryland  Council  of  Defense  in  June,  1917, 
at  which  time  the  Men's  Preparedness  and  Surv^ey 
Commission  received  legislative  recognition  by  statute 
and  was  styled  the  Maryland  Council  of  Defense. 

Scarcely  had  the  "Women's  Commission  been  ap- 
pointed when  it  was  called  upon  by  the  Men's  Coun- 
cil to  assist  in  correcting,  tabulating  and  filing  the 
census  returns  taken  in  Maryland  of  all  males  over 
sixteen  years.  Mrs.  C.  Baker  Clotworthy,  chairman 
of  the  Volunteer  Emergency  Service  Committee,  was 

281 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

asked  to  take  charge  of  this  work,  and  within  two 
days,  about  two  hundred  volunteers  had  been  se- 
cured. These  volunteers  worked  in  shifts  of  from 
fifteen  to  thirty-five  every  day  for  two  months,  under 
the  personal  direction  of  Mrs.  Clotworthy,  who  went 
to  the  office  of  the  Men's  Council  every  day  at  nine 
o'clock  and  remained  throughout  the  day  to  instruct 
the  volunteers,  each  of  whom  was  obliged  to  promise 
to  devote  at  least  four  hours  a  week  to  the  work  be- 
fore being  instructed. 

Another  large  piece  of  work  carried  out  by  means 
of  the  organization  of  the  Council  was  the  decoration 
of  the  places  of  registration  on  June  5th,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Patriotic  Education  Committee  and 
the  Americanization  Committee,  with  the  aid  of  the 
Motor  Messenger  Service.  The  President's  War  Mes- 
sage was  distributed  under  the  direction  of  the  same 
committee.  Two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  Hoover 
Pledges  have  been  distributed  in  Maryland. 

^'Our  big  task,"  said  one  of  the  Council  members, 
**is  to  arouse  women  to  a  sense  of  patriotic  duty  to 
work  in  the  canneries,  as  well  as  to  conserve  food  in 
the  homes.  The  newspapers  are  very  cooperative  and 
have  given  our  work  much  space.  This  work  was  part 
of  the  general  plan  of  the  Committee  on  Women  in 
Industry  which  is  cooperating  with  the  Bureau  of 
Registration  and  Information  of  the  National  League 
for  Women's  Service.  In  accordance  with  the  plan 
worked  out  in  conference  with  the  Executive  Officer 
of  the  Bureau,  the  Committee  holds  itself  responsible 
as  far  as  possible  to  secure  an  adequate  supply  of 
woman  labor  in  industrial  plants  holding  Government 
contracts.    By  way  of  preparation  for  this  work,  a 

282 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

survey  has  been  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  lo- 
catmg  industries  in  which  there  may  be  an  over  sup- 
ply of  woman  labor.  The  object  of  this  survey  is  to 
place  us  in  a  position  to  transfer  women  from  one 
industry  to  another  whenever  this  is  possible." 

In  order  to  encourage  women  to  conserve  food  by 
means  of  canning,  etc.,  the  Home  Economics  Commit- 
tee secured  the  services  of  an  expert  supplied  by  the 
Maryland  Agricultural  College,  and  she  has  from 
time  to  time  formed  classes  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
where  women  may  bring  vegetables  and  can  them 
under  her  direction.  A  demonstration  agent  is  also 
supplied  to  each  county  in  the  state.  So  as  to  reach 
more  women  than  could  be  gotten  to  the  classes  es- 
tablished by  the  expert  in  Baltimore  City,  the  women 
published  a  notice  in  the  newspapers,  that  instruction 
would  be  given  in  canning  and  drying  vegetables, 
either  by  telephone  from  our  headquarters,  or  in  the 
housekeeper's  home.  This  stimulated  interest  greatly 
and  the  expert  Home  Demonstration  Agent  has  all  she 
can  do  to  give  the  information  requested  concerning 
the  canning  of  fruits  and  vegetables. 

In  addition  to  the  activities  outlined  above  the 
women  of  Maryland  have  done  a  great  deal  of  Red 
Cross  Work. 

The  War  Emergency  Work  in  Baltimore  is  espe- 
cially interesting.  The  Home  Garden  Committee  had 
been  interested  in  gardens  of  all  kinds  in  Baltimore 
for  some  years,  and  since  its  organization  six  years 
ago,  has  been  a  committee  under  the  Women's  Civic 
League.  When  Governor  Harrington  of  Maryland 
appointed  the  Women's  Preparedness  and  Survey 
Commission  (Maryland  being  the  first  state  to  have 

283 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

such  a  commission  with  both  men's  and  women's 
sections)  the  chairman  of  the  Home  Garden  Commit- 
tee was  made  a  member  and  the  work  taken  over  un- 
der the  new  name  of  Food  Production  Committee  of 
the  Women's  Preparedness  and  Survey  Commission. 
Later  the  Commission  became  the  Maryland  Council 
of  Defense — Woman's  Section,  a  branch  of  the  na- 
tional organization. 

A  local  newspaper  has  been  offering  cash  prizes  for 
the  best  back  yard  gardens  for  the  last  eight  years. 
This  year  the  prizes  were  offered  only  for  vegetables 
and  the  work  so  greatly  stimulated  that  the  contest 
was  closed  when  the  number  reached  fifteen  thousand. 

Twenty-five  vacant  lots,  the  use  of  which  was  do- 
nated by  the  owners,  were  plowed  and  fenced  by 
the  committee.  Street  dirt  for  fertilizers  was  given 
by  the  Street  Cleaning  Department.  The  lots  were 
divided  into  about  an  eighth  of  an  acre  plots,  which 
were  worked  by  families  in  the  neighborhood,  each 
family  paying  one  dollar  nominal  rent — some  families 
taking  several  plots.  Each  lot  constitutes  a  com- 
munity farm — several  of  which  had  flag  raising  with 
prominent  citizens  (members  representing  other  edu- 
cational and  patriotic  organizations),  as  speakers. 
Most  of  the  gardeners  have  availed  themselves  of  the 
lessons  at  the  local  canning  centers. 

Children's  gardens  are  in  all  the  city  parks  worked 
in  cooperation  with  the  Playgrounds  Association. 
The  children  gardeners  regularly  harvest  their  Sun- 
day dinners;  one  child  had  sufficient  vegetables  for  a 
family  of  nine.  In  1917  two  hundred  and  eighty-six 
children  had  park  and  playground  gardens. 

The  School  Board  has  cooperated  with  the  commit- 
284 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

tee,  and  there  were  thirteen  school  gardens,  containing 
total  number  of  five  hundred  and  ninety-five  indi- 
vidual gardens.  The  largest  garden  being  that  at  the 
Louisa  Alcott  school,  which  has  one  hundred  plots, 
eighteen  feet  square.  One  little  nine-year-old  girl  by 
her  indefatigable  efforts  has  been  an  inspiration  to 
the  other  little  gardeners. 

Eight  gardens  in  the  various  institutions — orphan 
asylums,  old  men's  homes,  girls'  homes  and  so  forth, 
also  worked  under  the  committee  supervision. 

Some  results : 

Increase  in  the  neighborhood  and  civic  pride 

Hearty  spirit  of  cooperation 

Desire  for  more  efficiency 

Practically  no  vandalism 

Increased  food  in  congested  districts 

Each  gardener  contributed  some  of  his  products  to 
a  stall  at  the  Community  Market  of  Baltimore  for  an 
exhibition  and  sale,  proceeds  to  be  used  in  starting 
new  gardens  for  the  next  year. 

The  department  chairmen  for  Maryland  are:  Miss 
Kate  McLane;  Mrs.  William  Reed;  Mrs.  E.  H.  Worth- 
ington;  Mrs.  Frances  Sanderson;  Miss  Sallie  R.  Car- 
ter; Mrs.  Charles  E.  Ellicott;  Miss  Anne  Graeme 
Turnbull;  Mrs.  Jacob  M.  Moses;  Mrs.  Frances  T. 
Redwood ;  Mrs.  Julius  Freeman ;  Mrs.  B.  W.  Corkran, 
Jr. ;  Mrs.  C.  Baker  Clotworth ;  Dr.  Anna  Abercrom- 
bie;  Mrs.  Franklin  P.  Cator. 

Maryland  women  have  not  overlooked  the  colored 
women  in  their  plans.  The  work  of  this  Committee 
is  carried  on  entirely  through  colored  organizations, 
which  undertake  all  lines  of  war  emergency  work  that 

285 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

they  are  willing  to  perform.  A  member  of  the  Com- 
mission is  chairman  of  this  Committee  and  representa- 
tives from  the  colored  organizations  serve  on  the 
Committee. 

Massachusetts.  The  plan  followed  by  the  women  in 
Massachusetts  is  a  most  admirable  one  and  has  proved 
thoroughly  workable.  The  Woman's  Committee  has 
worked  from  the  beginning  in  close  cooperation  with 
the  Public  Safety  Commission  of  Massachusetts  and 
has  offices  in  the  quarters  of  that  organization  at  the 
State  House.  As  is  usual  when  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee is  closely  linked  with  an  existing  strong  organi- 
zation, much  has  been  accomplished.  Monthly  con- 
ferences of  women  representing  organizations  and  in- 
dividual women  are  held.  At  these  meetings  reports 
of  the  work  of  all  departments  is  given  as  to  the 
best  method  of  procedure  along  all  lines.  Naturally 
much  inspiration  and  information  is  exchanged  and 
practical  results  are  attained.  These  meetings  have 
been  largely  attended  and  vitally  interesting.  Prac- 
tically every  city  and  town  in  the  state  has  a  chair- 
man who  sees  that  the  plans  of  the  central  committee 
are  carried  out  in  her  own  home  town.  Another  fea- 
ture of  the  work  that  has  made  for  success  is  the  fine 
spirit  of  cooperation  that  is  broadly  manifested. 
Practically  every  woman's  organization  in  the  state, 
according  to  the  chairman's  report,  is  cooperating  to 
do  work  required  in  order  that  duplication  may  be 
avoided. 

The  women  did  valuable  work  in  cooperation  with 
the  State  Food  Administration  in  the  drive  of  Sep- 
tember, 1917,  and  during  that  month  letters  were  sent 
out  broadly  to  the  women  of  the  state.    Request  was 

286 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

made  that  the  people  of  Massachusetts  eliminate  the 
use  of  white  bread  for  two  days  each  week.  Two 
weeks  after  the  letter  was  sent  out  reports  were  re- 
ceived and  the  results  were  highly  satisfactory  to  the 
food  administration.  The  custom  of  eliminating 
white  bread  for  two  days  a  week  in  Massachusetts  will 
continue  indefinitely. 

A  great  deal  of  valuable  work  was  done  in  connec- 
tion with  the  boys  in  Camp  Devens,  at  Ayer,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  cooperation  with  the  Travelers'  Aid  So- 
ciety. Prizes  were  offered  for  "War  Time  Cookery" 
in  connection  with  the  state  and  county  fairs,  the 
work  being  under  direction  of  Mrs.  L.  A.  Frothing- 
ham,  of  North  Easton.  A  movement  was  started  to 
encourage  women  to  make  their  owti  soap,  *'war 
bread"  and  "war  cake,"  and  receipts  for  these  were 
inserted  in  the  local  papers  of  the  state.  A  number 
of  fish  recipes  were  also  included  and  the  use  of  fish 
instead  of  meat  requested.  Equally  effective  work 
has  been  done  for  the  Liberty  Loan  and  in  the  interest 
of  child  welfare.  Young  people  have  been  system- 
atically encouraged  to  take  training  for  some  useful 
pursuit.     Red  Cross  work  was  greatly  intensified. 

Boston  has  cause  to  be  proud  of  the  special  train- 
ing her  institutions  have  offered  for  special  training 
for  the  men  and  women  of  New  England  in  the  na- 
tional crisis.  Military  authorities  of  this  country  and 
Europe  outlined  the  courses  in  Harvard's  military 
camp.  The  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology 
and  the  Tufts  School  of  Engineering  have  done  their 
part  in  war  training.  Secretary  T.  Lawrence  Davis, 
the  organizer  and  director  of  Boston  University's  war 
emergency  courses,  placed  before  Secretary  of  the  In- 

287 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

terior,  Mr.  Redfield,  his  plans  for  a  course  in  intensive 
business  training  for  women,  to  meet  the  demand  for 
trained  women  in  business.  The  approval  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Interior  was  instantaneous.  These 
courses  offered  by  the  Boston  University  are  free,  ex- 
cept for  a  nominal  charge  for  text  books  and  supplies. 

Prominent  educators  and  business  men  and  women 
have  volunteered  their  services  and  their  efforts  will 
result  in  equipping  hundreds  of  young  women  for  po- 
sitions in  the  business  world.  The  courses  cover  a 
period  of  eight  weeks. 

The  officers  of  the  Massachusetts  Woman's  Commit- 
tee are:  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Thayer,  chairman;  vice- 
chairmen,  Mrs.  Herbert  J.  Gurney,  Mrs.  A.  C.  Rat- 
shesky,  Mrs.  Michael  M.  Cunniff,  Mrs.  Frank  D.  Elli- 
son, Miss  Anna  T.  Bowen;  secretary  and  treasurer, 
Mrs.  William  W.  Taff. 

Michigan.  On  March  27, 1917,  a  number  of  women, 
heads  of  prominent  women 's  organizations  of  the  state 
of  Michigan,  met  in  Lansing  to  consider  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Woman's  Committee  which  would  weld  to- 
gether the  women  of  the  state  and  take  up  various 
forms  of  patriotic  service.  Kev.  Caroline  Bartlett 
Crane,  LL.  D.,  was  elected  chairman,  and  the  com- 
mittee was  named  the  Michigan  Woman's  Committee 
of  Patriotic  Service.  In  May,  Dr.  Crane  was  ap- 
pointed by  Dr.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  chairman  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  of  Michigan  Council  of  National 
Defense,  and  the  former  organization  was  at  once 
merged  in  this  permanent  committee  of  the  Woman's 
Committee,  Michigan  Division,  Council  of  National 
Defense. 

Dr.  Crane,  realizing  the  need  of  placing  at  once 
288 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

special  emphasis  upon  food,  production,  immediately 
laid  plans  to  aid  the  farmers  of  the  state  in  testing 
seed  corn  and  removing  smut  from  oats.  It  being 
almost  impossible  to  secure  seed  potatoes,  some  twelve 
hundred  bushels  of  potatoes  were  purchased  by  Dr. 
Crane  and  sold  at  cost  price  to  the  farmers  in  Kala- 
mazoo and  neighboring  counties. 

Special  features  of  work  during  the  summer  months 
were  the  Hoover  Pledge  drive  and  the  safeguarding 
of  every  possible  avenue  for  food  conservation.  High 
school  brigades  were  mustered  to  save  the  cherry  crop, 
clearing  houses  established  in  different  cities  for  the 
sale  of  the  surplus  crops,  and  the  exchange  of  labor, 
glass  jars,  etc.  Thousands  of  canning  demonstrations 
were  held  in  the  state.  At  the  suggestion  of  the 
Woman's  Committee,  many  farmers  established  way- 
side markets  by  their  farm  homes,  thus  disposing  of 
vegetables  and  fruits  to  automobile  tourists. 

In  response  to  a  call  from  the  head  of  the  IMichigan 
Board  of  the  American  Red  Cross,  in  September  I\Irs. 
Crane  sent  out  a  letter  to  all  local  chairmen,  asking 
that  a  special  effort  be  made  to  interest  aged  people, 
women  in  institutions,  and  others  who  had  not  been 
reached  by  the  Red  Cross,  in  knitting.  Many  and 
unexpected  responses  came  to  this  appeal.  Teachers 
in  high  schools  asked  for  instructions,  that  the  high 
school  pupils  might  knit;  Campfire  Girls  and  troops 
of  Boy  Scouts  took  up  the  work;  firemen  were  to  be 
seen  at  their  knitting;  while  from  all  over  the  state 
the  unfortunate  ones  in  institutions  were  doing  their 
*^bit"  for  their  country. 

Michigan  believes  in  a  lavish  use  of  printers*  ink. 
Ten  thousand  posters  have  been  placed  throughout 

289 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR' 

the  state  in  a  "Cut  Down  Deliveries"  campaign. 
Daily  news  service  is  furnished  sixty  daily  papers, 
and  special  feature  and  Sunday  stories  are  sent  out. 

In  different  sections  of  the  state  effective  work  has 
been  carried  on  along  unusual  and  novel  lines.  At 
Grand  Rapids  eight  hundred  soldiers  were  fed  for 
four  weeks  by  the  local  unit  of  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee, Council  of  National  Defense,  these  meals  costing 
twenty-five  cents  each  and  giving  perfect  satisfaction. 
Two  thousand  dollars  was  thus  saved,  which  was  ex- 
pended for  extra  comforts  for  the  soldiers. 

The  Muskegon  Unit  gave  a  big  patriotic  pageant, 
''The  Building  of  the  Nation."  In  addition  to  af- 
fording a  patriotic  entertainment  which  was  thor- 
oughly constructive,  through  the  participation  of  the 
children  of  all  nationalities  represented  in  the  com- 
munity, a  splendid  work  of  Americanization  was  be- 
gun. With  the  heartiest  approval  of  their  priest, 
and  the  most  genuine  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  the 
little  folks,  the  Polish  children  gave  one  of  their  na- 
tional dances. 

The  Saginaw  Unit  of  the  Woman's  Committee, 
Council  of  National  Defense,  solved  the  problem  of 
Food  Marketing  through  the  medium  of  the  park 
market.  In  one  of  the  city's  parks  the  women  opened 
a  market,  to  which  farmers  and  truck  gardeners 
brought  their  produce. 

Throughout  the  state  work  along  the  various  de- 
partment lines  has  been  emphasized,  Mrs.  0.  H.  Clark, 
chairman  of  Women  in  Industry,  securing  a  volunteer 
factory  inspector  in  each  of  the  eighty -three  counties 
of  the  state. 

The  Department  of  Food  Administration  has  as  its 
290 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

head  Miss  Georgia  L.  White,  Dean  of  Home  Econom- 
ics of  Michigan  Agricultural  College.  Valuable 
emergency  courses  in  the  latest  methods  of  food  con- 
servation were  held  at  the  College,  and  hundreds  of 
teachers  went  abroad  over  the  state  to  give  demon- 
strations. Menus  for  meatless  and  wheatless  days 
were  prepared,  and  suggestions  for  the  help  of  women 
to  keep  all  the  Hoover  commandments  were  sent  out. 

Mrs.  R.  H.  Ashbaugh  of  Detroit,  chairman  for 
Michigan  of  the  Woman's  Liberty  Loan  committee 
of  the  Treasury  Department,  and  also  chairman  of 
the  Liberty  Loan  committee  of  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee, Michigan  Division,  Council  of  National  De- 
fense, appointed  leading  and  able  women  as  chair- 
men in  every  county  of  the  state. 

The  Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  De- 
fense, appropriated  $500  to  assist  the  nurses  of  the 
state  in  making  a  special  survey  of  nursing  and  hos- 
pital resources  of  the  state  for  the  service  of  both  the 
army  and  civilian  population. 

The  Woman's  Committee,  through  local  committees 
at  Battle  Creek,  Kalamazoo,  and  other  near  points, 
doing  special  work  for  the  boys  at  Camp  Custer. 
Churches  were  opened  as  club  houses;  two  evenings 
a  week  open  house  is  held  at  the  various  lodges  of  the 
city;  special  services  for  the  soldiers  Sunday  after- 
noon are  followed  by  informal  suppers;  permanent 
home  committees  have  been  organized  to  furnish  lists 
of  rooms  and  houses  to  men,  their  families  and  friends, 
and  to  invite  Camp  Custer  men  to  the  city's  home 
for  Sunday  dinners;  and  committees  have  also  been 
organized  to  mend  for  the  soldiers. 

A  thorough  survey  of  cities  and  towns  was  taken 
291 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

prior  to  the  registration  of  the  woman  power  of  the 
state,  that  the  Woman's  Committee  might  know  the 
agencies  for  good  or  bad,  employment  conditions, 
status  of  charities,  etc. 

In  190  cities  and  towns  fully  officered  organiza- 
tions have  already  been  established,  and  many  town- 
ship committees  consisting  of  chairman  and  secretary 
have  been  appointed.  Fifty-three  state-wide  organi- 
zations are  now  affiliated  with  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee, Michigan  Division,  Council  of  National  Defense. 

Headquarters  have  been  established  in  Kalamazoo, 
where  on  the  first  floor  of  a  business  block  on  one  of 
the  city's  main  streets,  the  passers-by  may  see  exhibits 
of  defense  work,  the  newest  posters,  and  read  the 
latest  war  bulletins. 

Dr.  Crane  is  frequently  in  the  field  addressing  con- 
ferences, federations,  and  other  large  bodies  on  de- 
fense work,  and  her  addresses  are  widely  quoted  by 
the  newspapers  of  the  state. 

In  July,  Governor  Albert  E.  Sleeper  named  a 
woman's  committee  on  War  Preparedness,  appointing 
Dr.  Caroline  Bartlett  Crane  chairman,  who  with  six 
other  members  serves  as  an  intermediary  between  the 
Michigan  War  Preparedness  Board  and  the  Woman's 
Committee,  Michigan  Division,  Council  of  National 
Defense;  the  War  Preparedness  Board  making  an 
appropriation  of  $7,000  to  this  work. 

Officers  and  Members  of  the  Woman's  Committee 
on  War  Preparedness  are:  chairman,  Mrs.  Caroline 
Bartlett  Crane,  Kalamazoo;  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  O. 
H.  Clark,  Kalamazoo;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Frances  E. 
Burns,  St.  Louis ;  members :  Mrs.  Florence  I.  Bulson, 
Jackson;  Mrs.  Georgia  L.  White,  East  Lansing;  Mrs. 

292 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

G.  Edgar  Allen,  Detroit ;  Mrs.  Emma  L.  Uren,  Hough- 
ton ;  secretary,  Mrs.  Clay  H.  Hollister,  Grand  Rapids. 
Executive  Board,  Woman's  Committee,  Michigan 
Division,  Council  of  National  Defense:  chairman, 
Mrs.  Caroline  Barlett  Crane;  honorary  chairman, 
Mrs.  Albert  E.  Sleeper;  1st  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  0.  H. 
Clark;  2nd  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  Florence  I.  Bulson; 
3d  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  Ida  M.  Hume;  4th  vice-chair- 
man, Mrs.  G.  Edgar  Allen;  5th  vloe-chairman,  Miss 
Georgia  L.  White ;  6th  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  Emma  L. 
Uren;  secretary,  Mrs.  Clay  H.  Hollister;  correspond- 
ing secretary,  Miss  Bina  M.  West,  Port  Huron;  treas- 
urer, Mrs.  Frances  E.  Bums. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

MINNESOTA,  MISSISSIPPI,  MISSOURI,  NEBRASKA 
AND  NEVADA 

Minnesota  women  cooperate  with  Public  Safety  Com- 
mission— Perfect  coordination  in  Mississippi — Thirty 
women's  organizations  unite  in  war  work — "One  can  for 
the  Government"  from  every  woman — Missouri  adopts 
unique  method  of  food  conservation  campaign — Wom- 
an's patriotic  special  train — What  the  women  of  Mon- 
tana are  doing — Nebraska  early  in  the  field  with  com- 
plete organization — Registration  accomplished  in  one 
day — "Drying  and  Canning  Week"  in  Omaha — ^Nevada 
women  have  various  activities. 

Minnesota,  The  women  of  Minnesota  have  done 
so  much  definitely  planned  and  well  executed  work 
that  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  has  been  their  most 
sucessful  branch  of  war  work.  Under  the  able  chair- 
manship of  Mrs.  Thomas  G.  Winter,  of  Minneapolis, 
the  organization  work  and  the  evident  spirit  of  co- 
ordination and  cooperation  is  certainly  worthy  of 
special  mention. 

In  Minnesota  the  Safety  Commission,  authorized  by 
the  legislature,  with  very  wide  emergency  powers  and 
an  appropriation  of  $1,000,000,  antedated  the  Council 
of  Defense.  It  appointed  a  Woman's  Auxiliary,  of 
which  Mrs.  Winter  was  made  chairman.  Later  came 
a  similar  appointment  from  the  Woman's  Committee 
of  the  National  Council  of  Defense.    It  was  then  pos- 

294 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

sible  to  combine  the  two  committees,  which  was  done 
by  the  local  council  (composed  of  Presidents  of  state- 
wide organizations)  voting  to  accept  the  Safety  Com- 
mittee as  their  executive  committee. 

The  state  was  then  organized,  first  by  congressional 
districts  and  then  by  counties.  An  unusual  and  most 
helpful  act  on  the  part  of  the  state  Safety  Commis- 
sion was  the  calling  of  the  entire  force  of  county 
chairmen  to  a  conference  at  the  state  Capitol,  paying 
their  expenses  and  giving  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives for  the  meeting  place.  This  opportunity  for 
full  discussion  and  contact  was  a  tremendous  im- 
petus to  the  work.  The  conference  ended  by  a  half 
day's  session  at  the  Farm  School  of  the  University, 
where  Miss  Berry,  chairman  of  Conservation,  who 
was  already  a  member  of  Mr.  Hoover's  advisory 
Committee,  gave  a  full  demonstration  of  the  plans 
of  the  then  non-appointed  Food  Administration,  and 
a  ' '  war  luncheon. ' ' 

The  women's  first  big  campaign  was,  of  course,  for 
the  signing  of  the  Hoover  pledges.  In  an  agricul- 
tural state,  with  no  large  cities  except  St.  Paul  and 
Minneapolis,  this  involved  long  drives  in  rural  com- 
munities. Inevitably  the  food  campaign  involved  a 
patriotic  one.  ''The  foreign  population  is  domi- 
nantly  Germ;an,"  said  Mrs.  Winter,  ''and  there  are 
communities  where  English  is  a  foreign  language. 
Their  first  feeling  was  naturally  one  of  horror  and 
protest  against  the  war,  but  quiet  unexcited  educa- 
tional work  has  already  done  much.  The  country 
work  has  enabled  us  to  make  a  quite  accurate  survey 
of  all  disloyal  groups,  among  whom  more  work  must 
be  done.     This  formed  the  second  big  work." 

295 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Later  Minnesota  initiated  a  remarkably  fine  piece  of 
cooperative  work.  A  central  state  committee  has 
been  formed  consisting  of  Mrs.  Winter  as  chairman, 
the  state  superintendent  of  schools,  a  member  of  the 
Safety  Commission  and  the  food  administrator  ap- 
pointed by  Mr.  Hoover.  Under  this  committee  every 
county  is  to  have  a  similar  committee,  consisting  of 
the  man  representative  of  the  Safety  Commission,  the 
county  superintendent  of  schools  and  the  woman 
county  chairman  of  defense.  Several  hundred  school 
teachers  and  principals  are  to  be  brought  in  from  all 
over  the  state  for  a  kind  of  training  camp  in  patriotic 
education  and  food  conservation,  so  that  the  plan  will 
ramify  into  every  little  rural  school  district  with 
thoroughly  informed  and  unified  workers. 

Minnesota  women  have  had  demonstrations,  patri- 
otic posters  and  distribution  of  thousands  of  copies 
of  such  material  as  the  President's  War  Proclama- 
tion, Secretary  Lane's  speech,  the  President's  reply 
to  the  Pope,  etc.,  through  the  County  Agricultural 
Fairs.  Also  dodgers  on  the  *' Hoover  Pledge,"  and 
''Why  We  Are  At  War,"  printed  in  various  lan- 
guages and  put  in  small  stores,  pool  rooms  and  other 
places  where  men  congregate.  These  are  designed  to 
reach  those  who  do  not  read  extensively. 

Wonderful  things  have  happened  in  Minnesota. 
Mrs.  Theo.  Christianson,  of  Dawson,  reported  to  the 
State  Chairman  that  one  town  woman  cheerfully  did 
the  canning  for  a  farmer's  wife.  Mrs.  J.  T.  Hale, 
of  St.  Paul,  reports  that  in  one  town  the  slogan  was : 
*' Don't  let  a  fighting  man  carry  your  parcels.  Save 
the  man  power  for  essential  service. ' '  In  one  town  a 
survey  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  sale  of  wheat  had 

296 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

fallen  off  one  third  after  the  women's  food  conserva- 
tion drive  and  the  sale  of  meal  and  non-wheat  break- 
fast foods  had  increased  enormously.  In  one  tovro. 
forty-seven  out  of  fifty  women  signed  the  Hoover 
pledge  cards.  In  another  rural  district  town  women 
are  washing  dishes  for  farm  women. 

Minnesota  has  a  Young  Women's  Auxiliary  organ- 
ized for  patriotic  service,  in  squads  of  six  or  more. 
The  State  Director  is  Miss  Eleanor  Mitchell,  St. 
Cloud;  vice  directors.  Miss  Lillian  Winston,  Minne- 
apolis; Miss  Katherine  Sullivan,  Stillwater;  Miss 
Helen  Congdon,  Duluth ;  secretary.  Miss  Gladys  Riley, 
St.  Cloud.  The  special  work  of  the  organization  is 
building  up  patriotic  sentiment  in  their  home  towns, 
giving  neighborhood  service,  assisting  in  food  con- 
servation, organizing  groups  for  the  study  of  home 
nursing,  and  assistance  in  the  registration  of  women 
for  service. 

The  officers  of  the  Women's  Committee  of  the  Min- 
nesota Division  Council  of  National  Defense  are: 
director,  Mrs.  Thomas  G.  Winter,  Minneapolis;  1st 
vice  chairman,  Mrs.  Cordenio  Severance,  Cottage 
Grove:  2nd  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  W.  T.  Coe,  Wayzata. 
Committee  chairmen:  Miss  Josephine  T.  Berry,  St. 
Paul;  Miss  Agnes  Peterson,  St.  Paul;  Mrs.  Edwin 
Stuhr,  Minneapolis;  Miss  Annie  Shelland,  St.  Paul; 
Mrs.  Frances  Buell  Olson,  St.  Paul;  Mrs.  Francis  A. 
Chamberlain,  Minneapolis;  Mrs.  Elbert  Carpenter, 
Minneapolis;  Mrs.  Walter  Thorp,  Minneapolis;  Mrs. 
W.  R.  Mandigo,  St.  Paul;  Mrs.  Bertha  Dahl  Laws, 
Appleton;  Mrs.  Charles  P.  Noyes,  St.  Paul;  Mrs. 
George  Squires,  St.  Paul ;  Mrs.  J.  L.  Washburn,  Du- 
luth.    Auxiliary    Committees:    Mrs.    Harold    Weld, 

297 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Boulevard;  Dr.  Auten  Pine,  St.  Paul.  Secretary, 
Miss  Aimee  Fisher,  Minneapolis. 

Mississippi.  Mississippi  furnished  a  fine  example 
of  perfect  coordination.  All  of  the  thirty  women's 
organizations  of  the  state  have  been  giving  their  time, 
their  money  and  themselves  to  aid  their  country  since 
the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the  War — 
through  the  Woman's  Committee  Council  of  National 
Defense.  The  committee  was  organized  at  Jackson  on 
May  24,  1917,  and  Mrs.  Edward  McGehee  was  elected 
permanent  chairman.  Every  county  and  town  in  the 
state  was  organized  and  one  of  the  first  things  to  oc- 
cupy the  attention  of  the  women  was  food  production 
and  conservation.  The  Canning  Clubs  representing 
ten  thousand  women  and  girls  under  the  direction  of 
the  County  Demonstration  Agents  set  the  ball  rolling 
by  cultivating  every  waste  place,  backyard  gardens  in 
the  towns,  and  their  own  gardens  in  the  rural  sec- 
tions. In  the  rich  truck  growing  belt  of  central  and 
south  Mississippi  the  women  were  able  to  save  the 
waste  produce  that  had  formerly  rotted  in  the  fields 
before  it  could  be  rushed  to  the  overcrowded  markets, 
or  canneries. 

Every  woman  in  the  state  has  pledged  ''One  can 
for  the  Government"  from  her  own  pantry.  This 
food  will  be  collected  by  the  State  Agent  of  Food 
Conservation,  and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  be  used  where  it  is  most  needed.  The 
first  Hoover  pledge  cards  were  signed  through  the 
same  agency,  and  all  counties  were  enthusiastically 
ready  for  the  ''Clean  Up"  campaign  in  signing  the 
second  cards  sent  out. 

The  registration  of  women  took  place  in  the  week 
298 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

of  September  14,  1917.  The  Governor  issued  a  proc- 
lamation setting  aside  this  day  as  "Woman's  Service 
day — when  a  great  drive  was  made  to  raise  funds  for 
the  registration.  The  week  was  a  great  success,  all 
organizations  giving  their  assistance  in  the  work. 
The  negro  women  were  registered,  and  took  great 
pride  and  pleasure  in  this  as  well  as  the  Food  Cam- 
paign. They  had  different  polling  places — but 
worked  under  the  instructions  of  the  club  women. 

The  women  have  been  enthusiastic  workers  in  the 
Red  Cross,  and  even  the  little  rural  towns  have  their 
auxiliaries  or  chapters.  Mrs.  McGehee  has  worked 
faithfully  to  give  every  assistance  to  the  Gulf  Division 
of  the  Red  Cross.  The  Liberty  Loan  and  the  "War 
Library  Fund  have  both  received  enthusiastic  sup- 
port from  the  Mississippi  women. 

At  Jackson  and  Hattiesburg,  where  Camp  Jackson 
and  Camp  Shelby  are  located,  the  women  have  done 
everything  in  their  power  to  help  make  camp  life 
clean,  wholesome  and  pleasant  for  the  boys  in  train- 
ing. In  all  urban  and  rural  communities  the  women 
are  maintaining  a  high  standard  for  the  civic  pride, 
through  their  work  in  the  interest  of  public  health, 
and  moral  and  spiritual  forces.  Because  of  a  cam- 
paign in  the  interest  of  the  Child  Labor  Law  the 
public  schools  in  Mississippi  had  the  largest  attend- 
ance in  the  history  of  the  state,  in  the  fall  of  1917. 
The  women's  clubs  took  up  the  study  of  pan-Ameri- 
canism, democracy,  world-reorganization  and  kindred 
topics,  showing  that  the  women  of  the  fair  Magnolia 
State  are  looking  out  beyond  the  old  dried-up  shell  of 
indifference  and  lethargy  where  habit  and  tradition 
have  held  her  for  so  long,  and  are  making  of  them- 

299 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

selves  real  and  potent  factors  in  the  Nation's  crisis, 
and  preparing  themselves  to  do  citizen's  duty. 

Headquarters  of  the  Woman's  Committee  are  at  the 
Industrial  Institute  and  College  at  Columbus,  where 
a  complete  office  equipment  was  donated. 

The  officers  are :  chairman,  Mrs.  Edward  McGehee, 
Como;  vice-chairman,  Mrs.  H.  L.  Quinn,  West  Point; 
secretary.  Miss  Annie  Caulfield,  Columbus ;  treasurer, 
Mrs.  Robert  Mimms,  Jackson. 

Missouri,  Missouri  adopted  a  unique  and  strik- 
ingly successful  method  of  conducting  its  food  con- 
servation campaign.  This  was  by  means  of  a 
"Woman's  Patriotic  Service  Special"  train  which 
carried  the  gospel  of  food  conservation  directly  to 
2,500  women,  according  to  the  official  report.  The 
special  was  sent  out  by  the  Women's  Committee  on 
Food  Conservation  in  cooperation  with  the  Missouri- 
Pacific  Railway,  with  the  object  of  explaining  the  cold 
pack  method  of  canning  and  drying  fruit  and  vege- 
tables to  the  women  living  in  the  cities  and  towns 
along  that  railroad.  Representatives  of  the  Women 's 
Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  and  of 
the  Red  Cross  also  were  guests  on  the  special.  Their 
duty  was  to  outline  the  work  of  these  two  organiza- 
tions to  the  women  in  the  towns  visited.  Mrs.  George 
Gillhorn,  in  conference  with  Mr.  Benjamin  F.  Bush, 
President  of  the  Missouri-Pacific  Railroad,  arranged 
for  the  trip  and  the  railroad  placed  a  private  car  at 
the  disposal  of  the  women.  At  each  of  the  twelve 
places  visited  the  special  was  sidetracked,  and  the  St. 
Louis  women  held  patriotic  meetings  and  gave  can- 
ning and  drying  demonstrations. 

According  to  the  chairman's  report,  everywhere 
300 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

the  special  stopped  the  ear  was  received  by  a  delega- 
tion of  patriotic  citizens  headed  by  the  mayor.  At 
every  city  local  organizations  were  established  of  the 
Red  Cross,  The  Women's  Council  of  National  De- 
fense and  the  Pood  Conservation  Committee. 

The  St.  Louis  women  who  made  the  trip  on  the  first 
** Patriotic  Special"  were  Mesdames  John  G.  Thom- 
son and  Robert  Terry  of  the  Food  Conservation  Com- 
mittee; Mrs.  Norman  Windsor  and  Miss  Elizabeth 
Cueny  of  the  Women's  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Mrs.  Edmund  F.  Brown  of  the  Red  Cross ;  Mrs.  Wal- 
ter McNabb  Miller,  Columbia,  Mo.,  and  Miss  Bab  Bell, 
head  of  the  Extension  Department  of  the  Home  Eco- 
nomics Section  of  the  University  of  Missouri, 

]\Irs.  B.  F.  Bush,  chairman  of  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  for  Mis- 
souri, was  also  appointed  by  the  Governor  a  member 
of  the  State  Council  of  Defense.  In  fact,  in  every 
instance,  the  county  chairman  is  a  member  of  the 
County  Council  of  Defense  unit,  thereby  forming  a 
connecting  link  between  the  men's  work  and  that  of 
the  women.  *'This  close  cooperation,"  says  one  of 
the  executive  officers,  *'is  absolutely  necessary  in  or- 
der that  the  work  may  be  carried  on  successfully. ' ' 

Missouri  is  well  organized,  complete  working  or- 
ganizations having  been  completed  in  106  of  the  114 
counties  and  in  375  towns,  by  the  end  of  the  summer 
of  1917.  July  28  was  set  aside  as  ''Patriotic  Day" 
for  Missouri  and  so  proclaimed  by  the  Governor.  On 
this  day  the  campaign  for  the  Hoover  pledge  cards 
was  conducted  and  the  registration  of  women  was 
made.  In  all  departments  Missouri  women  are  work- 
ing with  pronounced  success. 

301 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  plan  of  organization  in  this  state  is  worthy  of 
especial  study  by  those  states  who  may  still  be  in  the 
process  of  organization.  The  state  was  divided  into 
nine  districts,  with  a  vice  chairman  for  each  district. 
The  114  counties  in  Missouri  have  each  a  county  chair- 
man who  reports  to  the  vice  chairman  of  her  district. 
In  the  majority  of  cases  this  county  chairman  is  also 
a  member  of  the  County  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  Defense.  Each  of  the  large  cities  and  towns 
throughout  the  state  has  its  chairman  and  working 
units  to  look  after  the  different  departments  of  the 
work  of  the  Woman's  Committee  in  exactly  the  same 
way  as  does  the  state  body. 

The  larger  cities  make  their  weekly  report  direct 
to  the  vice  chairman  of  their  district,  and  also  to  the 
county  chairman ;  the  townships  or  towns  make  report 
to  the  county  chairmen,  each  of  whom  in  turn  reports 
to  the  vice  chairman  in  her  district.  The  nine  vice 
chairmen,  all  members  of  the  Executive  Board,  report 
to  the  state  chairman  once  each  week. 

The  state  chairman  or  chairman  on  organization 
sends  frequent  and  full  reports  to  the  nine  vice  chair- 
men in  the  districts,  and  to  the  county,  township  and 
town  chairmen  of  the  activities  of  the  several  depart- 
ments, the  Speakers'  Bureau,  Publicity  Committee, 
Courses  on  Instruction,  etc. 

Just  as  presidents  of  all  women's  state  organiza- 
tions become  members  of  the  Advisory  Council  of  the 
state  body,  so  do  presidents  of  city  and  town  organiza- 
tions form  an  advisory  board  of  the  city  and  town 
units  of  the  Woman's  Committee. 

''No  city,  town  or  county  unit  shall  initiate  any 
measure  contrary  to  the  State  policy  that  shall  be- 

302 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

come  pennanently  operative  until  submitted  to  the 
Executive  Board/'  the  official  announcement  states. 
''Every  unit  should  have  a  chairman,  vice  chairman, 
secretary  and  treasurer,  as  well  as  a  chairman  for 
every  department  of  work  that  may  be  taken  up,  these 
heads  to  appoint  chairmen  for  necessary  departments 
of  work.  These  department  heads  shall  send  a  weekly 
report  to  her  county  chairman  and  a  duplicate  copy 
to  the  state  chairman  of  that  department. 

"In  appointing  department  chairmen,  each  county 
chairman  shall  give  an  outline  of  the  work,  the  depart- 
ment state  chairman  to  instruct  the  county  chairman 
in  the  departments  of  work. 

' '  Such  funds  as  may  be  needed  for  local  work  should 
be  raised  by  each  unit  in  such  way  as  may  be  determ- 
ined by  the  board  of  that  unit.  An  assessment  might 
be  imposed  on  each  member  of  organizations  in  the 
county  or  town.  Women's  clubs  or  organizations 
might  be  asked  to  contribute." 

The  object  of  the  committee  is,  "To  secure  the  reg- 
istration of  every  woman  in  the  State  of  Missouri ;  to 
promote  efficiency;  to  prevent  duplication  of  effort; 
to  utilize  organizations  already  in  existence;  to  give 
every  woman  opportunity  for  patriotic  service,  either 
at  home  or  abroad,  and  incidentally  to  be  an  inspira- 
tional center  for  the  entire  state;  to  act  as  a  clear- 
ing house  for  the  work  of  women. ' ' 

The  officers  are:  honorary  chairmen,  Mrs.  Fred- 
erick D.  Gardner,  Jefferson  City;  Mrs.  Philip  N. 
Moore,  St.  Louis ;  chairman,  Mrs.  B.  F.  Bush,  member 
of  State  Council  of  Defense;  vice  chairmen,  Mrs. 
Selden  P.  Spencer,  St.  Louis;  Mrs.  Hugh  C.  Ward, 
Kansas   City;   Mrs.  Warren  F.  Drescher,  Hannibal; 

303 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Mrs.  W.  K.  James,  St.  Joseph ;  Mrs.  C.  W.  Greene,  Co- 
lumbia; Mrs.  E.  M.  Shepard,  Springfield;  Mrs.  Emily 
Newell  Blair,  Carthage;  Miss  Elizabeth  Davis,  Cape 
Girardeau;  treasurer,  Mr.  William  H.  Lee;  executive 
secretary,  Mrs.  Olive  B.  Swan,  St.  Louis;  Executive 
Committee:  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Stix,  Finance;  Mrs. 
Frank  P.  Hays,  Registration;  Mrs.  Elias  Michael, 
Courses  of  Instruction;  Miss  Elizabeth  Cueny,  Or- 
ganization; Mrs.  Lon  0.  Hocker,  Publicity;  Mrs.  G. 
V.  R.  Mechin,  Speakers;  Mrs.  Frank  Hammar,  Red 
Cross;  Mrs.  George  Gellhom,  Food  Administration 
and  Home  Economics ;  Miss  Ellen  Tootle  James,  Child 
Welfare ;  Mrs.  Fannie  Bonner  Price,  Immigration  and 
Alien  Groups;  Mrs.  W.  E.  Fischel,  Health  and  Recre- 
ation; Mrs.  Philip  N.  Moore,  Liberty  Loan;  Mrs. 
George  Still,  Clubs  and  Kindred  Organization;  Mrs. 
Philip  B.  Fouke,  Organization  St.  Louis ;  Mrs.  Orville 
Martin,  Organization  Kansas  City ;  Mrs.  N.  A.  Brown, 
Organization  St.  Joseph  and  Buchanan  County.  The 
Advisory  Council  consists  of  the  president  and  one 
delegate  of  each  state  or  national  organization. 

Montana.  Montana  women,  individually  and 
through  their  organizations,  have  been  doing  war  work 
along  practically  all  lines,  but  organization  under  the 
great  national  war  committees  has  not  been  perfected 
as  rapidly  as  it  has  been  in  other  states  and  no  official 
reports  of  the  work  in  Montana  have  been  received  in 
Washington  at  this  writing.  The  officers  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  in  Montana  are:  chairman,  Mrs. 
Tyler  B.  Thompson,  Missoula;  vice  chairman,  Mrs. 
Wallace  Perham,  Glendive;  secretary,  Mrs.  R.  Hugh 
Sloane,  Missoula;  chairman  of  Registration,  Mrs. 
Munill  R.  Tennis,  Butte ;  chairman  of  Food  Conserva- 

304 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

tion,  Miss  Bess  Rowe,  Bozeman;  chairman  of  Social 
Service,  Mrs.  S.  M.  Saunders,  Red  Lodge;  chairman 
of  Education,  Mrs.  Kate  W.  Jameson,  ^Missoula,  Dean 
of  Women's  University  of  Montana;  chairman  of  Lib- 
erty Loan,  Mrs.  W.  W.  MacDowell,  Butte;  chairman 
of  Red  Cross,  Mrs.  C.  B.  Nolan,  Helena ;  chairman  of 
Health  and  Recreation,  Mrs.  Mary  Alderson,  Roze- 
man;  chairman  of  Publicity,  Mrs.  L.  0.  Edmonds, 
Absarokee. 

Nebraska.  **The  "Woman's  Committee  of  the  Ne- 
braska State  Council  of  Defense  since  its  inception  the 
30th  day  of  June,  1917,  has  been  woman's  opportunity 
to  prove  her  patriotism,"  said  Prof.  Sarka  B. 
Hrbkova,  chairman  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the 
Council  of  National  Defense.  *'The  very  establish- 
ment of  a  Woman's  Committee  was  the  recognition 
of  woman  as  a  definite  and  dependable  factor  in  the 
conduct  and  success  of  a  great  war  against  the  dark 
forces  in  Central  Europe  which  are  jeopardizing 
democracy.  Our  Nebraska  Woman's  Committee  has 
proudly  accepted  this  open  acknowledgment  by  the 
government  of  the  inherent  right  and  responsibility 
of  women  to  give  service  to  their  country.  The 
women  of  our  state  as  of  other  states  labor  today  for 
the  protection  of  their  country  as  effectively  as  the 
soldiers  fight  for  it  on  the  far-flung  frontiers  of  the 
war  zone.  Nebraska  women  are  responding  with  all 
the  vigor  and  the  unalloyed  ardor  which  our  wonder- 
ful western  prairie  country  arouses.  Our  women  do 
not  talk  their  patriotism ;  they  live  it. ' ' 

The  organization  of  the  ninety-three  counties  of  the 
state  into  an  effective  working  machine  was  the  first 
big  work  after  which  the  food-pledge  drive  was  given 

305 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

impetus.  The  first  real  test  of  the  "machinery" 
planned  and  put  into  motion  by  the  women  and  for 
the  women  of  Nebraska  was  the  public  registration  of 
women  for  patriotic  service  accomplished  in  one  day — 
September  12,  1917,  at  all  the  regular  polling  places 
of  the  state,  by  proclamation  of  Governor  Keith 
Neville.  Fully  fifty  per  cent  of  the  woman  power  of 
Nebraska  was  enlisted  in  that  significant  public  de- 
monstration. A  question  and  answer  publicity  cam- 
paign all  crowded  into  a  nutshell  of  a  printed 
*' dodger"  preceded  the  first  formal  registration  day 
in  which  it  was  the  privilege  of  Nebraska  women  to 
participate. 

An  interesting  development  of  the  big  **  get-to- 
gether" meeting  of  the  county  chairman  of  Woman's 
Committees  held  at  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  September  4, 
1917,  was  the  means  taken  by  resourceful  leaders  in 
various  counties  to  get  out  all  the  women  on  registra- 
tion day.  In  one  county  every  school  in  the  districts 
registering  the  largest  number  of  mothers  was  pre- 
sented with  a  patriotic  record  for  the  school  phono- 
graph. In  another  county  pictures  of  great  Ameri- 
cans were  presented  to  the  schools  in  the  districts  with 
the  largest  enrollments  of  women  for  patriotic  service. 

The  formal  introduction  of  foreign  born  women  to 
the  Uncle  Sam  of  their  adoption  has  been  made  one 
of  the  earnest  pursuits  of  the  Woman's  Committee. 
Through  the  department  of  naturalization  which  has 
been  rechristened  "Americanization"  a  serious  and 
effective  appeal  was  published  in  every  foreign  lan- 
guage paper  in  the  state  excepting  only  certain  Ger- 
man publications  in  strongly  alien  districts.  These 
papers  likewise  printed,  at  the  request  of  the  woman 

306 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

member  of  the  State  Council  of  Defense  a  list  of 
all  the  naturalization  laws  affecting  women.  Large 
groups  of  foreign  born  girls  and  women  have,  in  re- 
sponse to  this  call,  taken  out  their  first  papers  as 
American  citizens.  On  one  such  occasion  when  a 
group  of  twenty  or  more  Scandinavian  and  Bohemian 
young  women  were  leaving  the  court  house  with  the 
material  evidence  of  their  intention  to  become  full- 
fledged  American  citizens,  a  man  well  known  in  poli- 
tics who  stood  at  the  entrance  said,  *' There  go  twenty 
votes  that  no  politician  can  buy.*' 

Not  only  have  the  women  of  Nebraska  accomplished 
much  in  bringing  about  the  Americanization  of  their 
foreign  born  sisters,  but  their  activities  have  had  a 
salutary  effect  upon  the  male  members  of  the  families 
involved.  It  is  an  actual  fact  that  numbers  of  men 
in  the  families  of  the  women  seeking  Americanization 
awoke  to  the  realization  that  they  too  should  natural- 
ize, and  forthwith  they  hurried  to  the  proper  authori- 
ties lest  their  women  outdo  them.  It  is  thus  that  the 
war  for  democracy  is  being  waged  here  at  home. 

The  comfort  of  the  loyal  lads  at  the  camps  has  given 
grave  concern,  but  the  Red  Cross  and  Health  and 
Recreation  departments  have  been  equal  to  the  task. 
When  there  have  been  no  ready  funds,  the  boys  have 
not  suffered,  for  there  have  been  willing  hearts  and 
patriotic  pockets  which  are  never  padlocked. 

Truly  wonderful  results  were  reported  from  **  Dry- 
ing and  Canning  Week"  in  Omaha.  The  Committee 
printed  40,000  pamphlets  on  food  conservation  and  in 
the  interest  of  stimulating  an  interest  in  drying  and 
canning.  These  were  distributed  by  the  retail  grocers 
and  through  the  schools.     Reports  were  to  the  effect 

307 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

that  there  was  an  increase  of  fifty  per  cent  in  canning 
and  drying.  In  six  days,  under  the  influence  of  the 
housewives'  ''drive,"  the  people  of  Omaha  put  up  for 
future  use  6,000  baskets  of  tomatoes,  3,000  baskets  of 
beans,  9,000  dozen  ears  of  corn,  and  4,800  bushels  of 
apples.  This  does  not  include  the  garden  products 
put  up  by  people  from  their  private  gardens,  which 
would  probably  increase  the  figures  twenty  per  cent. 
At  this  time  Nebraska  had  an  army  of  2,135  women 
food  conservation  volunteers  from  247  towns  at  work 
spreading  the  gospel  of  canning,  drying,  etc.  Train- 
ing schools  to  equip  these  recruits  to  act  as  canning 
demonstrators  were  held  in  thirty-three  towns  over 
the  state.  The  schools  were  conducted  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Agricultural  Extension  service.  So 
popular  did  these  training  schools  become  that  women 
were  enrolled  from  other  states,  including  Colorado, 
Illinois,  Iowa,  Missouri,  South  Dakota,  Idaho,  and 
Wisconsin.  One  volunteer  from  a  training  school 
taught  191  women  friends  the  art  of  canning,  and  set 
500  as  her  goal  before  the  season  closed.  This  is  a 
remarkable  story,  but  the  remarkable  part  about  it  is 
that  the  volunteer  demonstrator  did  the  work  at  * '  odd 
times, ' '  while  working  in  a  postoffice  from  6 :30  a.  m., 
to  6 :30  p.  M.,  with  but  thirty  minutes  for  lunch. 

No  account  of  the  work  of  the  women  of  Nebraska 
would  be  complete  without  something  of  the  really 
wonderful  amount  of  Red  Cross  work  that  has  been 
done  by  the  women  of  that  state.  Captains  of  in- 
dustry, wage  earners,  boy  scouts,  everybody,  joined 
in  the  great  Red  Cross  Campaign.  Not  only  did 
Omaha  oversubscribe  the  war  fund  in  the  week's  cam- 
paign, but  a  mere  handful  of  citizens  pledged  more 

308 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

than  half  of  the  allotment  at  a  Red  Cross  dinner  given 
three  days  before  the  campaign  proper  began. 

The  campaigns  were  no  sooner  over  than  the  women, 
whose  enthusiasm  was  now  completely  aroused  by  the 
patriotic  rallies  and  publicity  to  the  immediate  and 
vital  need  for  hospital  supplies  at  the  battle  front, 
formed  into  Red  Cross  auxiliaries,  thus  enlisting 
thousands  of  voluntary  workers  in  the  great  healing 
army. 

Besides  fifty-five  recognized  auxiliaries,  whose  mem- 
bers either  work  at  the  Red  Cross  workshop  or  else- 
where under  expert  supervision,  and  the  thirty-seven 
auxiliaries  in  the  public  schools,  which  have  2,725 
pupils  in  them,  there  are  countless  organizations  mak- 
ing garments  and  knitting  for  the  Red  Cross.  The 
children  have  consecrated  their  hours  of  play  to  serv- 
ice, their  parents  have  practically  abandoned  all  social 
obligation  and,  with  eager  hands  inspired  by  earnest 
hearts,  they  are  preparing  the  necessary  supplies 
which  will  alleviate  the  suffering  of  our  boys  on  the 
battle  line.  The  President  commandeered  them  and 
they  answered  his  bugle  cry  to  arms. 

A  bird's-eye  view  of  the  model  organization  of  the 
thousands  of  people  in  Omaha  now  engaged  in  Red 
Cross  work  makes  the  idea  that  Omaha  was  handicap- 
ped in  the  beginning  by  the  lack  of  a  chapter  seem 
like  an  absurdity.  Notwithstanding,  this  was  the  sit- 
uation, for  with  the  exception  of  the  Beatrice  chapter 
and  one  or  two  small  towns  in  the  western  part  of  the 
state  which  were  organized  under  the  Mountain  divi- 
sion at  Denver,  there  was  nothing  in  the  entire  state 
upon  which  to  build. 

With  the  growth  of  the  Omaha  chapter  came 
309 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

hundreds  of  inquiries  from  every  town  in  the  ^ate 
and  from  several  adjoining  states.  Through  the 
efforts  of  Mrs.  Z.  T.  Lindsay,  chairman  of  the  woman's 
committee  in  the  state,  and  Frank  Judson,  state  di- 
rector, every  one  of  the  102  chapters  have  been  estab- 
lished in  the  ninety-three  counties,  several  chapters 
having  branch  auxiliaries.  The  membership  on  Sep- 
tember 1,  1917,  was  as  large  as  that  of  any  state  in 
the  Union,  population  considered,  or  the  largest  mem- 
pership  per  capita. 

The  officers  are:  chairman.  Miss  Sarka  B.  Hrb- 
kova;  1st  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Barkley,  Lin- 
coln; 2nd  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  J.  N.  Paul,  St.  Paul, 
President  Nebraska  Federation  of  Women  Clubs; 
3d  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  E.  G.  Drake,  Beatrice, 
State  Regent,  D.  A.  R.. ;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Keith  Neville, 
Lincoln;  secretary.  Miss  Annie  L.  Miller,  Lincoln; 
auditors:  Mrs.  Jennie  M.  Rogers,  Gibbon,  State 
President  Women's  Relief  Corps;  Mrs.  J.  S.  Claflin, 
University  Place,  State  President  Women's  Christian 
Temperance  Union;  Mrs.  Z.  T.  Lindsey,  Omaha,  Miss 
Mary  Dungan  Hastings,  Y.  W.  C.  A.;  chairman  of 
Registration,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Sheldon,  Lincoln;  chairman 
of  Child  Welfare,  Mrs.  Draper  Smith,  Omaha ;  chair- 
man of  Social  Service,  Miss  Ida  L.  Robbins,  Lincoln ; 
chairman  of  Education,  Miss  Alice  Florer,  Lincoln; 
chairman  of  Red  Cross,  Mrs.  Z.  T.  Lindsey,  Omaha; 
chairman  of  Health  and  Recreation,  Dr.  James  E. 
Calif  as,  Omaha;  chairman  of  Americanization,  Dr. 
Olga  Stastny,  Omaha ;  chairman  of  Liberty  Loan,  Mrs. 
A.  G.  Peterson,  Aurora. 

Nevada.  The  women  of  Nevada  have  gone  about 
their  war  work  with  the  energy  and  enthusiasm  char- 

310 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

acteristic  of  the  people  of  that  state.  The  Nevada 
Division  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense  was  organized  June  14,  1917. 
Immediately  this  Committee  began  to  cooperate  with 
the  State  Council  of  Defense  and  specific  work  was 
undertaken  in  accordance  with  existing  conditions. 
It  was  decided  that  registration  could  best  be  taken 
by  means  of  the  food  pledge  and  therefore  efforts  in 
these  two  lines  were  combined.  Perhaps  Nevada 
women  have  occupied  themselves  mostly  with  work  for 
the  Red  Cross,  the  Food  Administration  and  the  Lib- 
erty Loan.  *'The  Red  Cross  seems  to  us  so  vital," 
says  the  state  chairman,  Mrs.  Pears  Buckner  Ellis, 
**that  it  became  the  immediate  concern  of  every  pa- 
triotic man,  woman  and  child  in  the  state.  The  en- 
rollment in  this  army  of  mercy  has  been  phenomenal 
and  large  sums  have  been  subscribed."  In  both  sales 
of  Liberty  bonds  Nevada  has  held  a  place  close  to 
the  top,  and  in  the  food-pledge  campaign  the  state 
has  also  made  an  excellent  showing. 

As  president  of  the  Federation  of  "Women's  Clubs 
and  chairman  of  national  and  state  defense  work, 
Mrs.  Ellis  has  been  able  to  coordinate  the  work  of  the 
women  of  her  state.  *'It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  be 
able  to  say,"  said  Mrs.  Ellis,  ''that  the  women  of  the 
clubs  have  faithfully  carried  out  instructions  and  have 
accomplished  all  the  work  laid  out  for  them  by  the 
State  Council  of  Defense  and  by  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee. Through  the  aid  and  advice  of  Governor 
Boyle  and  of  Mr.  Henry  Hoyt  of  the  Federal  Food 
Administration  for  Nevada,  we  have  had  most  grati- 
fying results." 

Mrs.  R.  G.  Withers,  of  Reno,  is  secretary  for  the 
311 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Nevada  Committee,  and  Mrs.  Harry  Clarke  is  treas- 
urer. Chairman  of  committees  are:  Registration, 
Mrs.  E.  D.  Boyle;  Child  Welfare,  Mrs.  Frank  Ellis 
Humphrey;  Liberty  Loan,  Mrs.  S.  D.  Belford;  Home 
Economies,  Miss  Frances  Hancock ;  Health  and  Recre- 
ation, Mrs.  S.  D.  Eubank ;  Home  and  Foreign  Relief, 
Mrs.  Hugh  Brown ;  Publicity,  Mrs.  George  West. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  NEW  JERSEY  AND  NEW 
MEXICO 

New  Hampshire  follows  interesting  plan  of  organiza- 
tion— State  Chairman  gives  her  residence  as  headquar- 
ters— New  Jersey  women  initiate  many  novel  forms  of 
patriotic  service — Canning  centers  in  every  community 
— ^Markets  opened  all  over  the  state — New  Mexico  fur- 
nishes a  thrill  to  Mr.  Hoover — Drying  food  not  a  "lost 
art"  in  that  state. 

New  Hampshire.  In  New  Hampshire  the  women 
followed  closely  the  suggestions  of  the  National 
Woman's  Committee  and  attempted  an  organization 
in  every  city  and  town  in  the  state.  Within  a  short 
time  the  Committee  was  able  to  report,  ''We  have 
only  about  five  or  six  tovnis  of  any  considerable  size 
that  have  not  already  been  organized,  and  there  has 
been  a  steady  advance  along  many  lines. ' ' 

''New  Hampshire's  plan  of  organization  is  inter- 
esting. An  organization  in  a  town  consists  of  a  chair- 
man and  several  vice  chairmen,  the  number  being  de- 
termined by  the  needs  of  the  tovm.  Each  chairman 
presides  over  a  certain  district  of  the  town,  and  the 
territory  is  divided  up  closely  so  that  each  woman  may 
make  an  actual  house  to  house  canvass  whenever 
needed.  There  is  a  very  widely  representative  State 
Board  and  each  member  of  a  State  Board  is  given  a 
particular  part  of  the  state  work  to  do.    For  instance, 

313 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

one  member  has  charge  of  the  grocery  deliveries  and 
works  in  the  interest  of  that ;  another  has  the  coopera- 
tion with  the  Red  Cross ;  another  the  extension  of  vol- 
untary service,  somewhat  similar  to  the  V.  A.  D.,  in 
Canada;  another  the  training  for  war  service;  an- 
other is  librarian;  another  has  child  welfare  and  the 
education  of  children  along  patriotic  lines;  another 
has  been  named,  under  Mr.  Hoover  and  Mr.  Huntley 
N.  Spaulding,  Federal  Food  Commissioner  of  New 
Hampshire,  as  Home  Economics  Director.  The  State 
chairman,  Mrs.  Mary  I.  Wood,  of  Portsmouth,  said : 

I  am  glad  to  bear  witness  to  the  splendid  cooperation 
which  we  have  received  from  the  Public  Safety  Committee 
and  from  Mr.  Huntley  N.  Spaulding,  the  Federal  Food 
Commissioner  for  the  state  of  New  Hampshire.  Under  Mr. 
Spaulding  a  food  campaign  was  planned  which  I  believe 
^as  second  to  none  in  the  United  States.  The  plan  pro- 
vided for  a  sufficient  number  of  home  economics  workers 
so  that  every  town  in  the  State  could  be  reached  with 
demonstrators  on  food  conservation  and  food  substitution 
and  a  housekeepers'  exchange.  Under  each  town  unit  we 
have  a  sufficient  number  of  workers  so  that  these  women 
who  are  not  able  to  attend  the  demonstrations  may  be 
reached  by  the  lessons  in  a  house  to  house  campaign  by 
these  sub-chairmen.  There  is  also  a  system  of  coopera- 
tion with  the  cities  and  towns  whereby  home  economics  is 
taught  in  the  public  schools  so  that  the  curriculum  of  these 
schools  may  allow  the  release  of  a  teacher  for  a  certain 
part  of  a  day  each  week.  Our  hope  is  that  our  sub-chair- 
men may  be  willing  to  take  lessons  in  home  economics  from 
these  teachers. 

We  are  also  in  the  midst  of  a  series  of  lessons  which  have 
been  arranged  in  such  a  way  that  every  town  unit  may  send 
its  chairman,  sub-chairmen  and  food  committee  members  to 

314 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

attend  this  conference  and  inspirational  meetings,  returning 
to  their  homes  without  spending  the  night.  At  these  meet- 
ings we  have  speakers  who  bring  before  the  people  very 
clearly  the  fact  that  America  is  at  war;  just  why  we  have 
entered  the  war;  something  of  what  the  war  means;  the 
government's  plan  for  the  using  of  the  woman  power  of 
America;  the  plans  of  the  Food  Administrator  and  a  talk 
on  food  substitution  and  food  conservation.  These  meet- 
ings give  great  satisfaction  and  the  women  respond  splen- 
didly. We  also  tried  to  get  before  large  groups  of  people 
daily,  and  we  were  able  to  feel  that  from  the  north  to  south 
and  from  the  east  to  west  of  our  little  State  we  are  pretty 
keenly  alive  to  the  war  necessity  and  also  to  the  part  which 
our  women  are  to  take  in  this  great  crisis. 

Of  course,  no  great  credit  should  be  given  to  us  because 
we  are  a  small  State  and  we  do  not  have  the  many  insur- 
mountable obstacles  which  some  states  present.  We  are 
not  beset  with  labor  troubles  nor  do  we  have  great  groups 
of  foreign  people  who  may  not  clearly  understand  our 
message.  We  are  fortunate  in  the  splendid  support  which 
we  have,  and  we  are  especially  fortunate  in  our  Federal 
Food  Commissioner.  With  all  of  these  assets  New  Hamp- 
shire ought  to  make  good. 

Mrs.  Wood  gave  her  residence  in  Portsmouth  for 
headquarters  of  the  Woman's  Committee  until  perma- 
nent arrangements  could  be  made.  Other  officers  are : 
vice  chairman,  Miss  Anne  Hobbs,  Concord ;  secretary, 
Mrs.  Albertus  T.  Dudley,  Exeter;  treasurer,  j\Irs. 
Susan  C.  Bancroft,  Concord;  Directors:  Mrs.  Mabel 
N.  Adams,  Derry ;  Mrs.  Alpha  H.  Harriman,  Laconia ; 
Mrs.  R.  W.  Husband,  Hanover ;  Mrs.  William  L.  Scho- 
field,  Peterborough;  Mrs.  George  D.  Towne,  Man- 
chester. 

New  Jersey.  If  New  Jersey  does  not  really  lead  all 
315 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  rest  in  many  branches  of  war  work,  it  is  certainly 
not  unfair  to  say  that  no  state  has  initiated  more  cred- 
itable and  novel  forms  of  patriotic  service,  nor  have 
the  women  of  any  state  worked  more  constantly  or  to 
better  purpose. 

New  Jersey  housewives  have  long  been  noted  for 
their  thrift  and  efficiency,  and  the  community  spirit 
has  run  high  among  them  for  some  time  before  war 
was  declared.  There  were  many  splendid  organiza- 
tions doing  work  along  broad  and  practical  lines  and 
it  was  only  necessary  for  these  to  turn  their  power 
to  war  work  for  things  to  begin  to  happen.  It  was 
in  New  Jersey  that  the  "community  kitchen" — ^later 
called  the  ''war  kitchen" — idea  began  to  develop,  and 
to  attract  the  attention  of  national  leaders.  In  New- 
ark and  in  other  cities  and  towns  the  experiment  was 
tried  with  pronounced  success.  It  was  also  in  New 
Jersey  that  the  women  planned  a  "cafeteria"  picking 
of  vegetables  and  fruits.  This  plan  was  suggested 
soon  after  news  reached  Summit  that  a  farmer  had 
plowed  under  a  whole  field  of  peas  because  he  could 
get  no  pickers.  The  Canning  Unit  of  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense 
asked  the  farmers  not  to  plow  under  anything  else 
until  the  women  had  been  given  a  chance  at  the 
fields. 

The  practical  spirit  of  the  New  Jersey  women  in 
regard  to  food  conservation  is  well  shown  in  a  letter 
to  the  Woman 's  Committee  at  Washington  from  Mrs. 
Mary  Skidmore,  in  which  she  says:  "Not  a  woman 
among  us  but  stands  ready  to  save  the  crumbs.  But 
we  also  want  to  know  something  about  the  control  of 
waste  at  the  market  source.    We  want  to  know  some- 

316 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

thing  about  the  trainloads  of  food  on  our  Jersey 
marshes  while  we  are  paying  the  price  they  choose  to 
ask.  I  say  there  should  be  control  of  public  waste  at 
the  source — meanwhile  we  do  what  we  can  at  home. 
Our  canning  unit  is  going  to  ask  that  the  farmers  will 
not  plow  under  their  fields  until  they  give  us  a  chance 
to  pick.  I  can  fancy  a  cafeteria  process,  by  which  one 
goes  into  a  field,  picks  what  beans  one  wants,  has  her 
basket  valued  on  the  way  out  and  pays  the  price  less 
her  labor.'' 

Mrs.  Charles  W.  Stockton,  of  Ridgewood,  chairman 
of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  New  Jersey  Coun- 
cil of  National  Defense,  says : 

I  think  the  New  Jersey  women  are  responding  to  all  the 
calls  made  upon  them.  Our  farming  communities  have  pro- 
duced record  crops  and  the  women  have  not  only  canned 
and  preserved  vegetables  and  fruit,  but  they  have  actually 
assisted  largely  in  the  gardening  which  produced  the  raw 
material.  I  know  of  several  women  who  took  positions  on 
farms  or  to  work  in  gardens.  Among  these  were  two  teach- 
ers who  wished  to  spend  their  vacation  in  the  open  air  and 
took  this  way  of  getting  a  vacation  and  doing  their  bit,  at 
the  same  time.  In  the  cities  the  back  yard  gardens  have 
been  something  astonishing  and  have  been  made  a  matter  of 
systematic  care.  Mrs.  Wm.  L.  Smith,  of  East  Orange,  has 
done  a  splendid  work  along  this  Une. 

Canning  centers  have  been  started  in  almost  every  com- 
munity, large  and  small,  and,  I  think,  with  excellent  results, 
considering  that  the  work  was  new  to  everyone  and  we  had 
to  feel  our  way. 

Newark  feels  that  she  has  started  something  not  for  the 
war  but  for  the  future,  which  is  well  worth  while  in  an  eco- 
nomic way.  Miss  Alice  C.  Kirkpatrick,  of  47  South  Street, 
Newark,   who   is   chairman   of  the  Newark   Unit   of  the 

317 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Woman's   Committee;   an   organization  that  has   rendered 
very  valuable  service. 

Markets  have  been  started  all  over  the  state,  and  have 
proved  an  even  greater  success  than  anticipated,  in  most 
cases.  They  started  out  almost  always  as  curb-markets  but 
have  grown  until  shelters  have  been  provided.  I  think  it 
is  the  general  feeling  that  this  is  only  a  beginning  of  what 
will  make  for  an  open-air  market  in  almost  every  com- 
munity, not  for  war  times  only,  but  as  a  part  of  economic 
living.  Successful  markets  were  started  at  Atlantic  City, 
Perth  Amboy,  Roselle  and  a  number  of  other  places,  which 
have  served  as  object  lessons  and  inspirations  to  other 
places.  Mrs.  John  J.  White,  Atlantic  City;  Mrs.  Steward 
Audsley  of  Perth  Amboy;  and  Mrs.  Paul  Q.  Oliver  of  West- 
field,  have  been  prominently  identified  with  this  branch  of 
work. 

Red  Cross  work  is  receiving,  if  anything,  more  than  its 
share  of  attention,  and  our  women  are  learning  how  many 
wonderful,  useful  garments  can  be  knitted  in  odd  moments. 
Knitting  is  more  and  more  in  evidence  every  place  all  the 
time. 

We  have  two  very  large  camps  for  soldiers  in  New  Jer- 
sey— Camp  Dix,  a  training  camp  at  Wrightstown,  and 
Camp  Merrit  at  Dumont,  an  embarkation  camp.  Our  women 
are  taking  hold  of  recreation  work  for  these  camps  not  only 
with  enthusiasm,  but  with  well  laid,  thoughtful  plans  for 
continuing  the  work  which  they  begin.  Miss  Margretta 
Fort  of  Spring  Lake  Beach,  is  in  charge  of  the  work  at 
Camp  Dix,  and  Mrs.  F.  S.  Bennett  of  Englewood,  is  in 
charge  of  work  at  Camp  Merritt. 

If  the  full  history  of  the  war  work  of  New  Jersey 
women  were  written  it  would  fill  volumes,  and  un- 
doubtedly it  would  recite  a  story  of  efficiency  in  pa- 
triotic work  that  would  be  valuable  to  America  and  to 
the  rest  of  the  world.     Each  of  the  twenty-one  coun- 

318 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

ties  is  organized  and  the  majority  of  the  large  cities 
have  local  units.  The  Committee  on  Woman's  Service 
in  each  town  is  under  the  mayor  in  relation  to  two 
duties:  first,  cooperation  with  the  Red  Cross,  where 
a  tremendous  w^ork  has  been  done;  second,  making  a 
census  of  women  who  might  replace  men  in  industry. 
The  headquarters  is  in  the  home  of  the  chairman, 
Mrs.  Chas.  W.  Stockton,  Hidgewood.  Other  officers 
are:  secretarj^,  Mrs.  Thomas  B.  Adams,  Summit; 
treasurer,  Mrs.  Seymour  L.  Cromwell,  Bernardsville ; 
honorary  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  M.  Otto  Wittpenn,  Jer- 
sey City. 

New  Mexico.  One  of  the  most  interesting  things 
that  has  happened  in  Washington  since  Mr.  Hoover 
became  the  National  Food  Administrator  was  the  ar- 
rival of  a  series  of  pictures  sent  by  the  women  of  New 
Mexico  showing  the  methods  of  drying  fruits  and 
vegetables  practiced  by  the  native  population  of  the 
state  and  by  the  Pueblo  Indians.  Even  in  the  cliff 
dwellings  there  was  found  evidence  that  these  early 
settlers  practiced  the  art  of  conservation — "some  time 
before  the  advent  of  Mr.  Hoover,"  as  a  New  IMexico 
woman  has  it. 

When  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  841  on  Drying  Fruits 
and  Vegetables  arrived  in  New  Mexico  from  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  in  Washington,  the  women 
laughed  in  their  sleeves.  ''Even  the  drjdng  of  fruits 
and  vegetables  as  practiced  a  few  decades  ago,"  the 
bulletin  said,  ' '  on  many  farms  has  become  practically 
a  lost  art;  the  present  food  situation  doubtless  will 
cause  a  marked  stimulation  of  drying  as  a  means  of 
conserving  the  food  supply."  The  drying  of  fruits 
and  vegetables  was  far  from  a  lost  art  in  New  Mexico, 

319 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

as  any  one  can  testify  who  has  gone  through  the  coun- 
try and  has  seen  all  the  fruits  and  vegetables  of  the 
community  spread  out  in  the  sun  to  dry.  Almost  all 
the  food  conserved  in  New  Mexico  is  dried,  and  it  was 
stated  that  fully  two-thirds  of  the  women  in  that  state 
practice  the  ''lost  art"  of  drying  fruits  and  vege- 
tables regularly. 

Among  the  pictures  sent  to  Mr.  Hoover  was  a  series 
showing  Indian  pueblos  in  harvest  time — roof  tops 
spread  with  grain,  houses  hung  with  chili,  the  plaza 
spread  with  meat,  squash,  corn,  beans,  alfalfa,  and 
corn  shock,  making  a  veritable  picture  of  plenty. 

In  the  campaign  of  conservation  the  ranch  women 
of  New  Mexico  proved  a  distinct  asset.  They  are  past 
masters  in  the  art  of  conservation,  and  their  hearty 
cooperation  proved  an  inestimable  benefit  in  the  food 
conservation  program. 

The  civilization  of  New  Mexico  is  unique  among  all 
of  the  states  of  the  Union;  the  problems  are  unique, 
and  therefore  she  has  been  able  to  make  a  valuable 
contribution  to  the  national  war  program,  along  lines 
of  conservation.  ''Because  the  methods  employed  by 
the  majority  of  our  women  are  primitive,"  says  the 
chairman  of  the  Woman's  Auxiliary  of  New  Mexico, 
"  is  no  reason  why  they  should  be  scorned  for  they  are 
perhaps  the  most  economical  in  point  of  time,  energy 
and  material." 

The  organization  of  the  Woman's  Auxiliary  of  the 
Council  of  Defense  of  New  Mexico  is  slightly  different 
from  the  organization  of  other  state  divisions  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense. The  reason  for  this  is  that  New  Mexico  was 
ahead  of  the  schedule  on  organization  and  when  the 

320 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Woman's  Committee  of  the  National  Council  took  up 
the  question  of  a  state  Division  for  New  Mexico  they 
found  the  Woman 's  Auxiliary  appointed  by  the  State 
Council  of  Defense  already  organized  and  active. 

Instead  of  having  chairmen  of  various  departments 
for  the  state,  the  Auxiliary  is  composed  of  county 
units,  each  duplicating  the  state  organization,  and  the 
county  units  in  turn  subdivded  into  district  units, 
according  to  the  school  districts  in  each  county.  For 
a  state  as  sparsely  populated  and  as  difficult  on  the 
score  of  transportation,  this  form  of  organization  is 
much  better  than  the  one  adopted  in  eastern  states. 
Each  county  chairman  is  responsible  to  her  unit  for 
all  departments,  and  there  are  no  separate  depart- 
ment heads. 

The  New  Mexico  Division  is,  moreover,  a  part  of 
the  Council  of  Defense  of  New  Mexico,  was  created  by 
that  body  and  thus  has  the  benefit  of  their  active 
cooperation.  The  Council  of  Defense  appointed 
women  from  the  various  counties  of  New  Mexico  as 
temporary  chairmen  of  those  counties,  who  selected 
the  permanent  officers  and  members  of  the  Woman's 
Auxiliary. 

The  expert  publicity  work  done  by  the  Woman's 
Auxiliary  of  the  New  Mexico  State  Council  of  De- 
fense would  do  credit  to  any  **big  business,"  and  is 
undoubtedly  responsible  in  a  large  degree  for  the 
success  of  the  women  of  the  ''Sunshine  State"  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  war  work. 

One  of  the  earliest  tasks  the  New  Mexico  women  im- 
posed upon  themselves  was  the  establishment  of  open 
markets  in  every  city  and  town  in  the  state  for  the 
distribution  and  sale  of  home  grown  vegetables  and 

321 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

food  products.  ' '  It  does  not  matter  how  small  a  scale 
you  open  your  market  on/'  the  Woman's  Auxiliary 
told  their  women;  ''the  important  thing  is  to  begin  it, 
and  let  it  increase  in  size  and  scope  as  the  season  pro- 
gresses. ' '  Here  is  another  sound  piece  of  advice  given 
out  by  these  enterprising  women:  "Do  not  be  dis- 
couraged or  impatient  if  things  do  not  go  with  a  rush 
at  first.  Remember,  that  it  takes  Uncle  Sam  six  months 
to  make  a  soldier ;  we  can  not  create  a  municipal  mar- 
ket in  a  single  day,  or  organize  Auntie  Sam's  army 
over  night.  The  important  thing  is  to  realize  that 
every  minute  counts,  and  that  every  effort,  however 
small,  increases  the  larger  effort  which  we  must  make 
in  order  to  insure  success.  This  is  not  an  economic  ex- 
periment for  a  nation  who  may  be  at  war  tomorrow ; 
it  is  a  practical  necessity  for  a  nation  at  war  today." 

In  the  center  of  the  plaza  of  Santa  Fe  there  is  a 
monument  erected  by  the  legislatures  of  New  Mexico 
of  1866-7-8  to  the  heroes  who  have  fallen  in  the 
various  battles  with  savage  Indians  in  the  territory  of 
New  Mexico  and  to  the  heroes  of  the  Federal  Army 
who  fought  and  who  fell  in  the  battles  of  Cailon  del 
Apache  and  Pigeons'  Rancho,  March  28,  1862,  and  in 
the  battle  of  Valverde,  February  21,  1862. 

The  Patriotic  committee  of  the  Santa  Fe  branch  of 
the  Woman's  Auxiliary  of  the  Council  of  Defense  of 
New  Mexico  placed  on  this  monument  a  bulletin  post- 
ing the  names  of  all  those  men  in  Santa  Fe  now  in  the 
service  of  their  country ;  and  it  was  suggested  by  the 
Woman's  Auxiliary  of  the  Council  that  this  plan  be 
adopted  by  all  the  towns  and  villages  of  the  state  of 
New  Mexico. 

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STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  bulletins  are  placed  in  some  prominent  place 
where  all  who  pass  may  see  them  and  recognize  daily 
this  honor  roll  of  the  living.  The  men  are  listed  un- 
der the  branch  of  service  in  which  they  are  engaged, 
and  their  whereabouts,  when  possible,  are  stated.  In 
this  way  the  people  of  town  and  village  or  community 
will  have  a  daily  reminder  of  the  heroes  of  today  who 
are  giving  their  time  and  their  strength  and,  it  may  be, 
their  lives,  to  the  cause  of  democracy.  The  Honor 
Roll  of  the  living  will  be  a  cause  of  cherishing  pride 
to  the  loyal  citizens  of  each  community. 

In  its  appeal  the  Woman's  Auxiliary  said,  ''It  is 
earnestly  recommended  by  the  Woman's  Auxiliary 
that  each  district  unit  post  this  list  of  the  men  of  its 
community  in  active  service  in  the  most  prominent 
place  in  the  town  or  village  as  soon  as  possible.  We 
can  not  pay  too  much  honor  to  the  men  who  are  de- 
fending us.  We  feel  sure  that  the  men  in  the  train- 
ing camps  or  in  the  navy  or  in  the  trenches  will  like 
to  know  that,  as  we  pass  through  the  plaza  or  along 
the  streets,  their  names  will  flash  upon  us  each  day  the 
instant  recognition  of  their  loyal,  devoted  service,  and 
that  we  do  not  have  to  wait  until  they  have  fallen  in 
battle  to  express  our  gratitude." 

Officers  of  the  Woman's  Auxiliary  of  New  Mexico 
are:  chairman,  Mrs.  W.  E.  Lindsey,  Santa  Fe;  1st 
vice  chairman,  Mrs.  A.  A.  Kellam,  Albuquerque ;  2nd 
vice  chairman,  Mrs.  H.  J.  Hammond ;  secretary,  Mrs. 
F.  L.  Myers,  Las  Vegas;  assistant  secretary,  Mrs. 
Walter  M.  Danburg,  Santa  Fe ;  treasurer,  Mrs.  R.  M. 
Fegusson,  Tyrone;  auditor,  Mrs.  R.  Harwell,  Estan- 
cia;  chairman  at  large,  Mrs.  A.    A.    Kellam,    Albu- 

323 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

querque ;  chairman  at  large,  Mrs.  R.  Harwell,  Estan- 
cia;  chairman  at  large,  Mrs.  Walter  M.  Danburg, 
Santa  Fe;  chairman  at  large,  Mrs.  F.  L.  Myers,  Las 
Vegas. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
NEW  YORK  AND  NORTH  CAROLINA 

New  York  State  organizes  early  and  plan  of  organiza- 
tion is  interesting — Constructive  work  for  maintaining 
home  with  present  standards  chief  concern  of  State 
Committee — Mayor's  Committee  of  City  of  New  York 
and  its  great  work — Suffrage  organization  makes  valu- 
able contribution  to  organization  work — North  Caro- 
lina's splendid  record. 

New  York.  Under  the  chairmanship  of  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam Grant  Brown,  president  of  the  New  York  Fed- 
eration of  Women's  Clubs,  the  Woman's  Committee  of 
the  Council  of  National  Defense  of  New  York  State 
has  set  the  pace  for  the  Nation  in  every  field  of  pa- 
triotic endeavor.  In  May,  1917,  Mrs.  Brown,  Imown 
as  one  of  the  ablest  and  best  equipped  among  the 
women  leaders  of  America,  was  made  temporary 
chairman  of  the  Woman 's  Committee  of  her  state,  and 
later  she  was  elected  permanent  chairman.  Prom  the 
beginning  her  slogan  has  been  ''No  competition.  Sin- 
cere cooperation  is  the  object.'* 

New  York's  plan  of  organization  embraced  the  fol- 
lowing : 

The  Board  of  Officers  of  the  New  York  State  Division 
of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense have  been  constituted  as  the  Woman's  Division  of  the 
New  York  State  Defense  Council  and  the  chairman  of  the 

325 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

New  York  Division  has  been  designated  as  Chief  of  the 
Division  and  authorized  in  the  name  of  the  State  Defense 
Council  to  designate  in  all  counties  a  competent  woman 
to  serve  as  temporary  chairman.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  temporary  chairman  to  call  into  conference  the  presi- 
dents, or  their  proxies,  of  all  local  woman's  organizations 
as  soon  as  possible.  Such  conference  shall  constitute  a 
committee  to  be  known  as  the  Woman's  Section  for  the 
given  county  and  shall  proceed  to  organize  itself  by  elect- 
ing a  chairman  for  the  county.  As  soon  as  organized,  the 
Chief  of  the  Woman's  Division  should  be  informed  and  the 
name  of  the  permanent  chairman,  together  with  the  list  of 
the  organizations  represented  at  the  meeting,  should  be 
transmitted  to  the  Chief  of  the  Division. 

The  State  Defense  Council  has  recommended  to  the 
various  County  Home  Defense  Committees  that  they  recog- 
nize the  chairman  of  the  Woman's  Section  of  the  county  as 
an  additional  member  of  the  County  Home  Defense  Com- 
mittee to  advise  with  the  committees  in  a  program  for 
woman's  work. 

A  city  (or  town)  committee  may  be  formed  by  the  County 
Section  to  be  composed  of  the  president  or  one  repre- 
sentative of  each  cooperating  organization.  This  committee 
in  all  towns  shall  be  called  the  (name  of  town)  Unit  of  the 
Woman's  Section.  The  Committee,  in  cities  of  sufficient 
size  to  warrant  a  more  intensive  organization,  shall  be 
known  as  the  Woman's  Committee  of  (name  of  city). 

The  City  Committee  shall  proceed  as  rapidly  as  possible 
to  establish  auxiliary  Units  in  each  ward.  The  same  proc- 
ess of  the  appointment  of  a  temporary  chairman  as  was  fol- 
lowed in  the  organization  of  state  and  city  will  probably 
prove  the  most  successful  plan.  The  ward  organization 
conference,  however,  should  be  a  general  meeting  of  the 
women  of  the  ward  and  the  Unit  will  be  composed  of  indi- 
vidual members. 

This  plan  of  proposed  organization  merely  links  together 
326 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

in  complete  working  cooperation  existing  organizations  of 
women.  The  Woman's  Division  of  the  state  and  the  county 
and  city  committees  are  designed  to  be  a  federation  of  all 
organizations  of  women  directl}'  responsible  to  the  state 
Defense  Council  and  to  the  Council  of  National  Defense. 
There  may  be  women,  however,  who  are  not  members  of 
any  organization  represented  in  the  city  or  town  com- 
mittee. For  the  benefit  of  such  women,  freedom  to  form 
other  units  should  be  allowed,  the  primary  object  being  to 
coordinate  patriotic  service  of  as  many  women  as  possible. 

Departments  may  add  individual  membership.  Clubs, 
church  societies  and  groups  of  various  kinds  may  affiliate 
directly  with  a  department  with  whose  work  they  wish  to 
cooperate. 

Organizations  may  be  found  already  engaged  on  some 
special  line  of  work  which  may  suitably  be  charged  with 
the  responsibility  for  that  department  of  work. 

The  headquarters  of  the  State  Division  of  New 
York  is  in  the  Hotel  Astor,  New  York  City,  and  of 
the  Woman's  Division  of  the  New  York  State's  De- 
fense Council  at  the  Capital,  23  Washington  Avenue, 
Albany.  The  state  chairman,  in  her  initial  announce- 
ment said,  *'The  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense  aims  to  bring  to  all  women's  or- 
ganizations a  relationship  that  may  help  one  and  all 
in  non-duplication  of  the  work,  and  that  each  organ- 
ization shall  retain  its  independence,  yet  realize  the 
necessity  of  a  natural  Federal  head,  or  clearing  house, 
through  which  all  may  keep  in  touch.  Each  state  and 
city  will  naturally  find  problems  peculiar  to  itself,  but 
the  chairman  in  charge  will  realize  the  opportunity  of 
unity  for  all  powers  to  centralize  and  coordinate  their 
work  so  that  the  greatest  efficiency  and  conservation 
shall  be  accomplished.     The  officers  of  the  New  York 

327 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

State  Division  of  the  Woman's  Committee  are :  chair- 
man, Mrs.  William  Grant  Brown ;  vice-chairmen,  Mrs. 
Ella  A.  Boole,  Mrs.  Norman  de  R.  Whitehouse,  Mrs. 
Nicholas  Brade,  Mrs.  Felix  Warburg;  acting  treas- 
urer ;  Mrs.  Ella  A.  Boole ;  secretary,  Mrs.  John  Fran- 
cis Yawger;  chairman  of  organization,  Mrs.  Emily 
Palmer  Cape.  The  Executive  Board  consists  of  the 
presidents  of  all  state  organizations  of  women. 

''The  Division  confines  itself  mostly,''  said  Mrs. 
William  Grant  Brown,  "to  constructive  work  for  the 
maintaining  of  the  home  with  its  present  standards, 
the  education  of  the  children  and  the  general  moral 
questions  of  the  community."  The  Committee  is 
divided  into  six  sub-committees.  These  committees, 
with  their  chairmen,  are  as  follows:  Industry,  Miss 
Nelle  Swartz ;  Hygiene  and  Health,  Mrs.  Elmer  Blair ; 
Camp  Entertainment,  Mrs.  Ruth  Litt;  Legislation, 
Miss  Sophie  Irene  Loeb;  Education — Food  Conserva- 
tion— Production,  Prof.  Martha  Van  Rensselaer ;  Wel- 
fare, Mrs.  William  Einstein. 

The  nation  may  well  point  with  pride  to  the  Mayor's 
Committee  of  the  City  of  New  York  as  an  expression 
of  the  efficiency,  initiative  and  patriotic  enthusiasm  of 
American  women.  Considering  the  size  of  the  task 
this  committee  of  women  set  for  themselves  and  the 
fact  that  they  constitute  an  organization  that  is  wholly 
voluntary  and  that  is  no  way  supported  by  the  munic- 
ipal government,  the  results  accomplished  in  the  first 
six  months  of  war  are  nothing  short  of  marvelous. 
The  method  of  organization  and  operation  of  this 
committee  may  be  studied  with  profit  by  women  every- 
where who  are  interested  in  perfecting  their  war  work 
machines.    It  will  be  noticed  that  the  work  has  been 

328 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

divided  into  certain  standing  committees  charged  with 
definite  tasks  and  that  these  committees  are  distinct 
units  individually  responsible  for  the  work  assigned  to 
them. 

As  stated,  the  work  of  the  committee  has  been 
financed  by  voluntary  contributions.  In  the  first  five 
months,  the  committee  on  finance,  under  the  chair- 
manship of  ]\Irs.  Charles  Gary  Rumsey,  raised  $22,841 
and  expenditures  totaled  $12,478.84.  It  has  been 
charged  sometimes  that  women  are  not  good  financiers. 
It  is  doubtful  if  any  body  of  men  anywhere  in  the 
world  could  have  made  a  better  showing  in  actual, 
tangible  results  of  this  expenditure  than  the  women  of 
the  Mayor 's  Committee  of  the  City  of  New  York  have 
made. 

The  function  and  purpose  of  the  Mayor's  Commit- 
tee of  Women  on  National  Defense  Work  is:  '*To 
register  all  women's  organizations  in  New  York  City 
interested  in  war  service,  to  so  coordinate  their  efforts 
as  to  eliminate  unnecessary  duplication,  and  in  every 
way  possible  to  direct  women's  patriotic  energies  into 
the  most  useful  channels.  To  suggest,  and,  where  de- 
sirable to  initiate  new  activities." 

The  Mayor 's  Committee  of  New  York,  being  already 
organized  as  a  quasi  official  branch  of  the  local  city 
government,  was  recognized  by  both  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  and  the 
Woman's  Division  of  the  State  Defense  Council,  as 
the  official  New  York  City  Division  of  the  Woman's 
Committee.  ''To  both  state  and  federal  agencies, 
therefore,"  says  the  Committee  in  its  first  report, 
*'the  Mayor's  Committee  of  Women  is  indebted  for 
assistance  and  cooperation." 

329 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

When  appointing  the  Mayor's  Committee  of  Women 
on  National  Defense  on  April  18,  1917,  the  Honorable 
John  Purroy  Mitchel,  Mayor  of  New  York  City,  stated 
it  to  be  the  function  of  the  Committee  to  cooperate 
with  the  Mayor's  Committee  on  National  Defense,  of 
which  Mr.  Willard  Straight  was  Chairman,  "in  order 
that  we  may  bring  into  this  work  the  coordinated 
effort  of  all  existing  women's  organizations  in  the  de- 
fense field With  this  committee  in  existence,  we 

will  have  all  of  the  potential  citizen  forces  of  the  com- 
munity organized  and  lined  up  for  the  most  effective 
work  that  can  be  done  during  the  period  that  is  to 
come."  The  Mayor's  Committee  of  Women  main- 
tains a  close  relationship  with  the  men's  committee, 
with  which  it  is  coordinate.  Some  standing  commit- 
tees are  joint  committees  of  men  and  women,  and  all 
committees  have  full  knowledge  of  one  another 's  activ- 
ities. 

The  following  letter  sent  to  Miss  Ruth  Morgan, 
Chairman,  indicates  the  first  commission  intrusted  to 
this  committee : 

It  is  important  that  the  work  of  coordination  of  women's 
organizations  engaged  in  activities  for  war  emergencies  be 
immediately  undertaken  by  your  committee. 

I  am,  therefore,  desirous  that  all  such  organizations  or 
groups  register  with  your  committee  at  the  earhest  possible 
moment  full  information  concerning  their  activities  and  the 
plan  and  scope  of  their  work." 

(Signed)        John  Purroy  Mitchell, 

Mayor. 

The  work  of  registration  was  promptly  begun.  Uni- 
form registration  blanks  were  sent  to  all  known  organ- 

330 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

izations  of  women  in  the  city.  The  information  thus 
secured  will  be  made  available  for  federal,  state,  mu- 
nicipal and  private  agencies,  and  will  further  serve  as 
a  means  of  correlating  women's  war  service. 

Standing  committees  were  appointed  as  follows: 
Agricultural,  sub-committees  on  Farm  Labor  and 
Farm  Sites ;  Aliens ;  Census ;  Food  ;  Joint  Committee 
on  Industry  and  Employment;  with  sub-committees 
on  Industry,  and  Employment;  Nursing;  Publicity; 
Finance. 

The  officers  of  the  Committee  are:  Honorary 
Chairman,  Mrs.  John  Purroy  Mitchel ;  Chairman,  Miss 
Ruth  Morgan;  Vice-Chairman,  Mrs.  Willard 
Straight;  Secretary,  Mrs.  Henry  Moskowitz;  Treas- 
urer, Mrs.  V.  Everit  Macy.  The  Executive  Committee 
is  composed  of:  Miss  Amey  Aldrich,  Mrs.  James  S. 
Cushman,  Miss  Virginia  C.  Gildersleeve,  Miss  Anne 
W.  Goodrich,  Miss  Mabel  H.  Kittredge,  Mrs.  Alex- 
ander Kohut,  Mrs.  Charles  Cary  Rumsey,  Mrs.  F. 
Louis  Slade,  Mrs.  Charles  L.  Tiffany. 

Members  of  the  Committee  include  Mrs.  Robert 
Adamson,  Miss  Amey  Aldrich,  Mrs.  Barrett  Andrews, 
Mrs.  Vincent  Astor,  Mrs.  Robert  Bacon,  Mrs.  August 
Belmont,  Mrs.  Francis  C.  Bishop,  Mrs.  Sidney  Borg, 
Mrs.  Henry  Bruere,  Mrs.  Francis  H.  Cabot,  Miss 
Alice  Carpenter,  Mrs.  Thomas  L.  Chadbourne,  Jr., 
Mrs.  Jessica  Finch  Cosgrave,  Mrs.  Frederick  L.  Cran- 
ford,  Mrs.  James  S.  Cushman,  Mrs.  Cleveland  H. 
Dodge,  Miss  Martha  L.  Draper,  Mrs.  William  K. 
Draper,  Miss  Mary  E.  Dreier,  Mrs.  James  Gerard, 
Miss  Virginia  C.  Gildersleeve,  Miss  Pauline  Goldmark, 
Miss  Anne  W.  Goodrich,  Mrs.  John  Hays  Hammond, 
Mrs.  Learned  Hand,  Mrs.    Montgomery   Hare,   Mrs. 

331 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Joshua  Hatfield,  Miss  Mary  Garrett  Hay,  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam Henry  Hays,  Mrs.  Charles  Hoffman,  Mrs.  Charles 

E.  Hughes,  Mrs.  Helen  H.  Jenkins,  Miss  Mabel  Kitt- 
ridge,  Mrs.  Alexander  Kohut,  Mrs.  Adolph  Laden- 
burg,  Mrs.  Martin  W.  Littleton,  Mrs.  Philip  J.  Mc- 
Cook,  Mrs.  V.  Everit  Macy,  Miss  Julia  Marlowe,  Mrs. 
Alice  Duer  Miller,  Mrs.  John  Purroy  Mitchel,  Mrs. 
Victor  Morawetz,  Miss  Ruth  Morgan,  Mrs.  William 
Fellowes  Morgan,  Mrs.  Henry  Moskowitz,  Mrs.  Daniel 

F.  Murphy,  Miss  Teresa  O'Donohue,  Mrs.  William 
Church  Osborne,  Mrs.  George  W.  Perkins,  Mrs.  Gif- 
ford  Pinchot,  Mrs.  Ernest  Poole,  Mrs.  George  Haven 
Putnam,  Mrs.  Ogden  Mills  Reid,  Mrs.  Allan  Robbins, 
Mrs.  Charles  Gary  Rumsey,  Miss  Melinda  Scott,  Miss 
Mary  Shaw,  Mrs.  V.  G.  Simkhovitch,  Mrs.  F.  Louis 
Slade,  Mrs.  William  Sporborg,  Mrs.  William  C. 
Storey,  Mrs.  Willard  Straight,  Miss  Ida  Tarbell,  Mrs. 
Leonard  Thomas,  Mrs.  Charles  L.  Tiffany,  Mrs.  Cornel- 
ius Vanderbilt,  Miss  Lillian  D.  Wald,  Mrs.  John  E. 
Weier,  Mrs.  Norman  de  R.  Whitehouse,  Mrs.  William 

G.  Wilcox,  Mrs.  Arthur  Woods,  Mrs.  John  Francis 
Yawger. 

The  Committee  of  Agriculture,  Miss  Virginia  C. 
Gilder  sleeve,  chairman.  Miss  Mary  E.  Foster,  secre- 
tary, was  organized  to  coordinate  the  agricultural  work 
already  being  done  by  New  York  City  women's  organ- 
izations and  to  supplement  and  extend  their  activites. 
Two  important  tasks  at  once  engaged  its  attention: 
first,  to  cooperate  with  the  state  employment  bureau 
and  the  employment  clearing  house  of  the  Mayor  ^s 
Committee  of  Women  in  supplying  women  for  agri- 
cultural work ;  second,  to  provide  expert  advice  in  con- 
nection with  gardening  enterprises  in  New  York  City 

332 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

and  community  gardening  plans  in  the  immediate 
vicinity. 

It  appeared  that  there  was  no  machinery  here  for 
placing  New  York  women  on  farms,  so  the  agriculture 
committee  opened  an  employment  bureau  with  that 
function.  As  it  was  found  in  the  beginning  that 
farmers  did  not  want  women  employees,  one  of  the 
first  duties  of  this  committee  was  to  advertise  the  fact 
that  women  can  do  many  sorts  of  farm  work  very  well 
and  to  persuade  farmers  to  try  them.  Publicity  was 
obtained  in  various  ways.  Then,  units  of  women  farm 
workers  were  formed  in  which  the  housing  and  feed- 
ing of  the  group  of  workers  was  managed  under  a 
supervisor  by  a  system  of  cooperative  housekeeping. 
The  great  advantage  of  this  unit  plan  was  that  the 
farmer's  wife  was  under  no  responsibility  for  the 
housing  and  feeding  of  the  additional  workers.  The 
farmer  as  a  rule  furnished  the  living  quarters — tents, 
a  disused  house  or  a  schoolhouse,  and  the  women  them- 
selves bought  and  prepared  their  own  food.  Copies  of 
a  pamphlet  issued  by  the  committee,  called  "A  Unit 
Plan  for  Agricultural  Workers,"  may  be  obtained  on 
application  at  the  offices  of  the  Mayor 's  Committee  of 
"Women,  New  York  City. 

Eleven  farm  units  have  been  working  with  the  com- 
mittee. One  of  these,  the  Mt.  Kisco  unit,  has  been 
more  or  less  an  agricultural  training  camp,  and  has 
numbered  as  many  as  seventy  residents  at  one  time. 
The  workers  have  gone  out  from  that  center  to  do  all 
kinds  of  farm  and  garden  labor  in  Westchester  Coun- 
ty. One  other  unit  was  engaged  in  general  farm  work. 
Others,  as  it  happened,  were  all  in  the  fruit  country, 
and  their  workers    were    engaged    in    thinning    out 

333 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

peaches  and  picking  various  kinds  of  fruit  products. 

The  committee  feels  that  it  has  demonstrated  the 
practicability  of  the  plan,  and  that  in  another  year 
it  may  be  desirable  and  possible  to  induce  not  only  this 
section  of  the  country,  but  other  districts  which  are 
already  considering  the  matter,  to  undertake  a  system 
of  unit  committees  for  farm  workers  on  a  very  large 
scale. 

The  committee  was  not  organized  early  enough  in 
the  season  to  give  much  timely  advice  on  planting  in 
connection  with  community  gardening  last  spring.  It 
did,  however,  employ  an  expert  in  agriculture  who 
inspected  carefully  the  market  gardens  in  greater 
New  York,  and  visited  also  some  of  the  very  interest- 
ing community  enterprises  near  New  York,  as  for  in- 
stance that  in  Yonkers.  She  has  drawn  up  a  careful 
report  of  her  investigation. 

A  large  section  of  New  York  resembles  rather  a 
group  of  foreign  villages  than  part  of  an  American 
city.  The  population  of  these  villages  is  two  million, 
and  chief  among  them  is  the  second  largest  German 
city  in  the  world.  Owing  to  this  fact.  New  York  pre- 
sents a  problem  which  is  duplicated  nowhere  else  in 
the  United  States.  A  committee  was  organized 
jointly  with  the  men's  committee  on  aliens  to  deal  with 
that  problem  by  means  of  a  widespread  campaign  of 
Americanization  among  aliens,  the  work  to  be  carried 
on  under  the  direction  of  a  selected  staff.  It  embraces 
many  community  activities  of  a  special  nature. 

The  definite  aim  of  the  educational  campaign  is  to 
supplement  the  public  school  teaching  of  English 
among  foreigners,  and  to  bring  to  alien  communities 
what  is  best  in  American  culture  and  civilization,  at 

334 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

the  same  time  retaining  the  finest  and  best  that  for- 
eigners have  to  contribute  to  this  country.  Its  pro- 
gram provides  for  the  organization  of  additional 
classes  both  day  and  night  in  public  schools,  factories, 
shops,  settlements  and  social  agencies  of  every  kind 
for  the  teaching  of  English,  civics,  American  history, 
gymnastic  work  and  dancing  to  both  sexes  after  they 
have  passed  school  age,  and  of  millinery,  cooking  and 
embroidery  to  women. 

The  board  of  education,  cooperating  with  this  com- 
mittee, obtained  from  the  board  of  estimate  and  ap- 
portionment an  appropriation  of  approximately 
$100,000  to  enlarge  the  classes  in  above-mentioned 
subjects  in  public  schools  in  this  city.  Community 
visitors  are  being  sent  into  foreign  neighborhoods, 
whose  purpose  is  to  arouse  interest  and  improve  at- 
tendance in  these  classes. 

The  cooperation  of  the  Merchants'  Association,  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Hotel  Men's  Association 
and  the  Fifth  Avenue  Association,  has  been  secured  in 
the  campaign  for  industrial  Americanization.  In 
each  of  these  organizations  a  special  committee  has 
been  appointed  to  work  along  the  lines  of  a  program 
offered  them  by  this  committee  for  the  establishment 
of  classes  among  foreigners  in  workrooms,  shops  and 
hotels.  These  classes  offer,  beside  the  ordinary  work, 
advanced  courses  to  those  who  already  have  been 
taught  elsewhere.  The  result  will  be  to  bring  the  edu- 
cational campaign  within  the  reach  of  workers  of  all 
kinds,  even  laborers,  employed  in  construction  work. 

Ninety-eight  political,  educational,  professional  and 
social  organizations,  churches,  settlements,  clubs, 
schools,  industrial  establishments  and  hotels  are  lend- 

335 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ing  their  assistance  to  this  work.  Conferences  are 
being  held  in  community  groups  to  secure  direct  con- 
tact and  mutual  understanding,  such  as  personal  con- 
ference can  bring. 

The  committee  obtained  from  the  state  census  a 
list  of  women  with  knowledge  of  foreign  languages 
who  are  willing  and  able  to  serve  as  teachers.  This 
list  contains  1,215  names.  At  the  same  time  the  census 
list  of  people  who  do  not  speak  English  is  in  use. 
They  will  be  followed  up  and  brought  into  classes 
where  they  will  receive  instruction.  The  committee 
assisted  the  food  administration  in  the  distribution  of 
pledge  cards  by  putting  appeals  in  the  foreign  papers 
asking  housewives  to  sign  the  pledges  and  explaining 
their  purpose  to  them.  In  cooperation  with  the 
American  Red  Cross,  the  committee  has  established 
seven  auxiliaries  in  foreign  neighborhoods  where  war 
work  is  being  carried  on  by  the  women  of  the  districts. 
Aliens  who  were  refused  in  the  draft  are  being  listed. 
An  effort  will  be  made  to  teach  them  English,  bring 
them  in  contact  with  American  life  and  eventually  in- 
terest them  in  citizenship. 

The  foreign-language  newspapers  are  being  fol- 
lowed closely  and  gatherings  in  streets  carefully 
watched,  in  order  that  the  committee  may  learn  what 
the  foreign  population  is  doing  and  saying  and  think- 
ing, so  that  educational  propaganda  may  meet  direct 
needs.  A  series  of  entertainments  was  arranged 
for  the  dissemination  of  American  cultural  influences. 
An  attractive  feature  of  this  department  of  work  is 
the  branch  of  the  community  chorus  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Mr.  Harry  Barnhart.  It  meets  at  Public 
School  No.  4  on  the  east  side,  and  is  filled  on  Thursday 

336 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

evenings  with  enthusiastic  and  happy  singers,  learn- 
ing to  know  America  through  the  universal  language 
of  music.  It  is  hoped  that  by  the  means  by  which 
this  committee  has  chosen  to  initiate  the  work,  New 
York  may  be  made  a  city  of  one  people  with  one 
language,  instead  of  a  group  of  foreign  towns. 

The  Committee  on  the  Census,  Mrs.  F.  Louis  Slade, 
chairman,  Miss  Louise  Meyer,  secretary,  (by  courtesy 
of  the  Junior  League)  was  organized  for  the  purpose 
of  assisting  Mr.  Ernest  P.  Goodrich,  director  of  the 
census  for  New  York  City,  in  taking  the  state  military 
census. 

Its  duty  was  to  enlist  the  assistance  and  to  coordin- 
ate the  work  of  the  women  of  this  city,  and,  since  of 
the  fifty  thousand  people  in  New  York  City  who  vol- 
unteered to  do  this  work  forty  thousand  were  women, 
this  was  no  light  task.  Organizations  of  women  re- 
sponded with  much  enthusiasm,  and  every  organiza- 
tion gave  to  the  limit  of  its  strength ;  but  the  woman 
suffrage  party,  because  of  its  great  numbers  and  com- 
plete organization  in  every  borough,  undertook  the 
bulk  of  the  work.  There  has  never  been  a  volunteer 
census  on  such  a  huge  scale  before,  and  while  the 
actual  taking  of  the  census  is  completed  and  the  com- 
mittee has  been  dissolved,  the  results  of  the  work  are 
only  now  beginning  to  appear. 

A  careful  estimate,  based  on  all  available  informa- 
tion, was  that  the  number  of  men  and  women  in  the 
city  of  census  age  would  be  well  under  three  million, 
and  it  was  assumed  that  if  there  were  three  million 
people  a  great  many  of  them,  even  with  the  finest  web 
that  could  be  woven,  would  slip  through  the  mesh. 
Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  3,266,377  people  registered 

337 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

at  the  extraordinarily  small  cost  to  the  city  of  $30,000. 
Thus  about  three  thousand  more  people  between  six- 
teen and  fifty  were  registered  than  were  supposed  to 
exist,  so  that  instead  of  failing  to  register  some  who 
were  known  to  be  here,  the  census  discovered  people 
who  were  never  discovered  before. 

Governor  Whitman  in  speaking  of  the  census  quoted 
Lord  Northcliffe,  who  said:  ''If  England  had  taken 
such  a  census  at  the  beginning  of  her  w^ar  she  would 
have  saved  millions  of  pounds  and  many  thousands 
of  lives." 

As  a  practical  example  of  what  the  census  has 
actually  accomplished  so  far,  two  instances  may  be 
cited.  The  material  contained  on  the  cards  on  which 
the  registration  was  made  has  been  copied  on  larger 
cards  punched  with  holes  in  such  a  way  that  they  can 
be  run  through  a  tabulating  machine.  This  will  throw 
out,  for  example,  cards  which  designate  people  of  a 
certain  occupation,  age,  locality,  or  nationality.  The 
enlistment  officers  were  anxious  to  get  the  names  of 
those  men  who  said  they  wished  to  serve  in  the  army 
or  navy  and  as  a  result  of  going  through  the  census 
over  11,000  additional  recruits  were  immediately  se- 
cured. After  the  men  began  to  go  into  camp  there 
was  a  shortage  of  cooks,  and  by  running  the  cards 
through  the  machine  some  5,000  extra  cooks  were  ob- 
tained. This  material  has  been  in  shape  for  use  only 
since  October  16,  1917,  yet  the  census  has  already  re- 
paid its  cost  many  times. 

Out  of  over  three  million  registration  blanks  in  the 
city  of  New  York  there  were,  of  course,  a  number  that 
were  defective.  Some  people  forgot  to  sign  their 
names ;  some  people  failed  to  answer  questions  in  just 

338 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

the  right  way ;  some  people  answered  them  in  exactly 
the  wrong  way.  But  it  was  possible  to  follow  up  these 
mistakes  and  to  rectify  them,  so  that  at  this  writing 
there  remain  only  five  hundred  blanks  which  fail  to 
meet  the  full  requirements  of  the  law. 

''Although  police  powers  were  given  to  the  census 
board,  not  one  single  person  had  to  be  coerced,"  con- 
cluded the  report  of  the  committee.  ' '  The  methods  of 
persuasion  and  intelligent  explanation  proved  so  ef- 
fective that  for  the  first  time  in  our  history  there  has 
been  secured  a  census  of  the  people,  taken  by  the 
people  and  for  the  people.  We  know  as  a  result  that 
we  live  in  a  city  of  approximately  5,500,000  inhabit- 
ants capable  of  developing  a  great  volunteer  organi- 
zation and  of  proving  to  the  world  that,  in  spite  of  the 
difficulties  involved,  a  volunteer  organization  with  a 
will  to  succeed,  succeeds." 

The  Committee  on  Coordination,  Mrs.  Henry  ]\Ios- 
kowitz,  chairman,  in  accordance  with  the  first  com- 
mdssion  intrusted  to  it,  began  early  in  May,  1917,  a 
registration  of  all  women's  organizations  in  New  York 
City  interested  in  war  service.  By  November  over 
300  organizations  had  signified  their  willingness  for 
thorough  cooperation  with  the  committee  in  its  war 
work.  The  second  phase  of  the  work  consisted  in 
giving  such  advice  and  guidance  to  the  cooperating 
organizations  as  was  found  possible. 

The  Sub-Committee  on  Volunteers,  Miss  Virginia  C. 
Gildersleeve,  chairman,  found  that  a  large  amount  of 
exceedingly  important  work,  such  as  the  Liberty  Loan 
and  Food  Administration  campaigns  must  be  carried 
on  by  volunteer  women  workers,  and  it  was  found  ad- 
visable to  try  to  coordinate  through  a  central  clear- 

339 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ing  house  the  various  organizations  that  were  register- 
ing and  directing  volunteers.  Such  a  clearing  house 
should  put  the  organizations,  committees  and  govern- 
ment bureaus  needing  volunteer  workers,  in  touch 
with  the  organizations  and  bureaus  registering  those 
who  wish  to  do  this  work.  It  should  also  do  much  to 
raise  the  standard  of  volunteer  work. 

Representatives  of  the  principal  organizations  en- 
gaged in  registering  and  using  volunteer  workers 
were  called  together,  and  Mrs.  John  M.  Glenn  was 
appointed  chairman  of  a  sub-committee  for  this  work, 
which  drafted  an  excellent  plan  for  a  central  clearing 
house  for  volunteer  workers. 

The  essential  idea  of  this  plan  is  joint  action  of  the 
principal  organizations  dealing  with  the  registration 
of  volunteers,  to  form  a  central  bureau  to  which  the 
Red  Cross,  for  example,  or  the  Liberty  Loan  commit- 
tee when  it  suddenly  needs  a  number  of  volunteer 
workers,  can  send.  This  call  will  then  be  passed  on  to 
the  bureaus  engaged  in  registering  individuals  for 
service.  The  clearing  house  should  issue  a  printed 
bulletin  showing  where  the  need  is  greatest  from  week 
to  week.  For  example,  it  might  be  found  one  week 
that  too  many  women  are  engaged  in  surgical  dress- 
ings work  and  Red  Cross  relief,  with  a  corresponding 
dearth  of  workers  at  that  moment  under  the  Liberty 
Loan  committee.  Such  a  condition  the  clearing  house 
could  effectually  relieve. 

It  has  been  emphasized  that  the  central  clearing 
house  will  not  itself  register  individuals.  That  will 
continue  to  be  done  by  individual  organizations  or 
bureaus.  They  deal  with  special  groups  of  individu- 
als and  know  these  groups  as  no  central  clearing  house 

340 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

could  ever  do.  It  may  be  necessary  to  establish  new 
registration  bureaus  for  certain  groups  of  volunteers, 
and  to  make  more  clear  the  line  of  demarcation  be- 
tween existing  bureaus,  in  order  that  the  volunteer 
may  easily  ascertain  just  where  she  should  register. 

Meanwhile,  there  are  two  kinds  of  calls  for  volun- 
teers, which  are  coming  very  urgently  now.  One 
kind,  for  example,  is  that  which  the  Red  Cross  issued 
when  it  suddenly  needed  100  especially  qualified 
women  to  go  to  France  for  canteen  work,  and  wanted 
to  know  the  bureaus  to  which  it  should  apply  for 
them.  That  sort  of  call  for  volunteers  is  a  very  special 
one,  involving  close  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  sep- 
arate bureaus  of  the  women  they  have  registered  and 
can  recommend.  Then  there  are  the  many  sudden 
calls  which  have  been  coming  the  past  few  weeks  for 
large  numbers  of  untrained  volunteers  for  some  emer- 
gency work,  such  as  that  of  the  Food  Administration 
canvass.  It  is  necessary  to  devise  some  machinery  for 
turning  out  women  quickly  in  response  to  these  emer- 
gency calls.  As  time  goes  on,  it  seems  clear  that  a 
clearing  house  for  these  varied  kinds  of  volunteer 
workers  will  become  increasingly  valuable. 

The  Committee  on  Employment,  Mrs.  Alexander 
Kohut,  chairman,  Mrs.  Edgar  Strakosch,  committee 
secretary,  has  four  sub-committees  as  follows :  the  em- 
ployers',  class,  placement,  and  advisory — and,  in  the 
latter  part  of  June,  1917,  the  Mayor's  Committee  of 
Women  in  cooperation  with  the  federation  of  noncom- 
mercial emplojTnent  agencies,  established  an  employ- 
ment clearing  house,  to  serve  all  public  and  private 
noncommercial  employment  bureaus  and  other  organi- 
zations doing  free  placement  and  vocational  guidance 

341 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

work  with  women  and  juveniles.  The  federation  of- 
fered to  the  clearing  house  the  advantages  of  its  bu- 
reau of  information,  which  exists  for  the  use  of  all 
noncommercial  employment  bureaus  affiliated  with  the 
federation,  as  a  center  for  the  accumulation  of  infor- 
mation concerning  industries  and  individual  employ- 
ers. 

The  function  of  the  employment  clearing  house  was 
primarily  (1)  to  aid  the  noncommercial  emplojrment 
bureaus  in  filling  such  calls  as  they  themselves  are  un- 
able to  fill,  with  applicants  from  other  bureaus,  and 
(2)  to  obtain  calls  directly  from  employers,  to  be 
transferred  to  the  various  bureaus.  In  the  period  of 
its  existence,  June  27  to  October  1,  2,208  calls  for 
6,381  persons  passed  through  the  clearing  house,  235 
of  which  came  directly  from  employers,  the  remaining 
1,973  from  the  24  agencies  in  active  cooperation  with 
the  clearing  house  during  that  time.  Varying  condi- 
tions have  been  adequately  met  and  the  clearing  house 
appears  to  have  fulfilled  its  function  in  its  operations 
with  employers  and  employment  bureaus. 

It  is  the  work  of  the  employers'  committee  to  secure 
calls  from  employers  for  labor  and  to  make  studies  of 
the  industries  in  which  women  are  needed  and  in 
which  they  are  replacing  men.  Through  the  three 
field  workers  of  the  clearing  house,  two  of  whom  were 
volunteers,  192  visits  to  employers  were  made.  Of 
these,  54  were  to  banks  and  trust  companies.  It  was 
found  that  all  but  7  of  them  were  employing  women. 
In  a  large  number,  the  emplojment  of  women  was  a 
new  policy  necessitated  by  actual  or  anticipated  loss 
of  male  employees  released  for  war  service  and  by  a 
very  great  increase  in  the  banking  business. 

342 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Visits  were  also  made  to  factories  making  army  and 
navy  uniforms  on  government  contracts.  In  all,  53 
factories  were  inspected.  In  all  of  them,  it  was  esti- 
mated that  the  percentage  of  women  and  girls  em- 
ployed would  increase  steadily,  although  it  was  the 
opinion  of  the  majority  of  these  employers  that  the 
output  of  the  women  could  not  equal  that  of  the  men. 
In  two  of  the  shops,  instructors  were  already  em- 
ployed to  teach  the  women  and  girls  the  work  of  the 
men. 

Visits  were  also  made  to  9  representative  railroad 
companies.  Replacement  is  not  occurring  in  the  east 
as  much  as  in  the  middle  and  western  divisions.  It  is 
the  policy  of  all  the  railroad  companies  to  employ 
women  wherever  possible  when  there  is  a  demand  for 
new  employees  and  to  give  preference  to  women  mem- 
bers of  present  employees'  families.  Several  insur- 
ance companies,  retail  organizations  and  commission 
houses  were  visited.  Conferences  have  been  held  with 
the  American  Locomotive  Company  and  the  Interbor- 
ough  Rapid  Transit  representatives  with  a  view  to  out- 
lining the  best  method  of  procedure  for  the  replace- 
ment of  men  by  women  in  their  various  plants. 

It  was  the  responsibility  of  the  class  committee  to 
study  all  established  trade  and  extension  classes,  and 
to  recommend  to  the  proper  authorities  the  establish- 
ment of  such  additional  classes  as  are  deemed  neces- 
sary to  equip  women  and  girls  for  industry. 

Under  the  joint  committee  of  the  employers'  and 
class  committees,  a  questionnaire  was  prepared,  to  be 
personally  submitted  to  employers  in  all  classes  of  in- 
dustry by  volunteer  field  workers,  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain the  positions  in  which  women  may  be  used  and 

343 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  requirements  for  these  positions.  The  active  co- 
operation of  the  Merchants'  Association  of  New  York 
was  enlisted  by  the  joint  committee. 

The  work  of  the  placement  committee  was  to  study 
placements,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  and  main- 
taining standards  in  placement  work  and  to  recom- 
mend to  the  federation  of  noncommercial  employment 
agencies  the  adoption  of  uniform  standards  in  the  va- 
rious trades  and  occupations. 

The  matter  of  placement  of  untrained,  older  women 
who  have  been  applying  for  work  in  large  numbers 
was  taken  up,  and  the  working  women's  protective 
union  accepted  this  phase  of  employment  as  their 
special  task.  The  state  public  employment  bureau 
also  became  interested,  and  plans  for  cooperation  be- 
tween the  two  bureaus  are  being  formulated.  Results 
speak  for  themselves  in  the  number  of  openings  which 
have  been  made  for  these  older,  inexperienced  women. 

The  advisory  committee  consists  of  members  of  the 
federation  of  noncommercial  employment  agencies 
who  are  actually  doing  placement  work  and  who  are, 
therefore,  proper  supervisors  of  the  work  of  the  clear- 
ing house  in  its  daily  operations  with  the  bureaus. 

Ways  and  means  of  cooperation  between  bureaus 
and  clearing  house  were  devised  by  them. 

Although  the  employment  clearing  house  was  es- 
tablished as  a  war  measure,  it  has  already  justified 
its  organization  and  proved  the  need  of  a  clearing 
house  on  a  larger  scale,  not  only  for  emplojrment  bu- 
reaus handling  women  and  juveniles,  but  for  those 
working  with  men  and  boys  as  well.  The  great  pos- 
sibilities of  such  a  clearing  house  having  been  recog- 
nized, at  a  joint  meeting  of  representatives  of  the  two 

344 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Mayor's  Committees,  it  was  decided  to  establish  a 
clearing  house  for  employment  offices  for  both  men 
and  women.  It  was  thought  best  to  place  the  clearing 
house  under  the  supervision  of  the  director  of  the  state 
public  employment  bureau,  upon  which  agreement  the 
state  defense  council  consented  to  contribute  the 
major  portion  of  the  expenses.  In  order  to  simplify 
the  financial  operations  of  the  combined  clearing  house 
the  executive  committee  of  the  Mayor's  Committee  of 
Women  made  a  lump  sum  appropriation  of  $5,000  for 
the  year  beginning  October  1,  similar  to  that  of  the 
Mayor's  Committee  on  National  Defense.  The  clear- 
ing house  for  employment  offices  went  into  operation 
on  October  5,  1917,  at  44  East  23d  Street,  and  organ- 
ized for  intensive  work  on  all  the  functions  properly 
belonging  to  a  clearing  house  for  noncommercial  em- 
ployment bureaus. 

The  Committee  on  Nursing,  Miss  Anne  W.  Good- 
rich, chairman.  Miss  Helen  F.  Boyd,  committee  secre- 
tary, was  appointed  to  meet  the  condition  caused  by 
the  demand  for  highly  trained  nurses  in  the  first 
months  of  war,  and  the  consequent  depletion  of  the 
home  service.  As  the  matter  was  one  of  equal  im- 
portance to  the  general  public  and  the  nursing  pro- 
fession, the  committee  was  composed  of  lay  members 
prominently  connected  with  civic  interests  and  of 
nurses  representing  the  nursing  organizations.  It 
was  clearly  seen  that  provision  must  be  made  for  an 
increased  force  of  thoroughly  trained  nurses  to  deal 
with  the  health  problems  both  at  home  and  abroad 
during  the  war  and  during  the  reconstruction  period 
after  the  war. 

In  order  to  be  able  to  form  a  policy  to  cope  with  the 
345 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

situation  the  committee  undertook  as  its  first  and  most 
important  piece  of  work  a  survey  of  the  nursing  re- 
sources of  New  York  City.  This  survey  was  taken  in 
July  and  August.  It  discovered  17,377  persons  en- 
gaged in  nursing  service,  of  whom  10,308  are  gradu- 
ate nurses,  sixty-two  per  cent,  registered.  This  means 
that  there  are  about  three  persons  engaged  in  nursing 
service  per  thousand  population  in  New  York  City, 
one  of  whom  is  a  registered  graduate  nurse.  One  out 
of  every  four  of  these  registered  nurses  is  enrolled  in 
the  Red  Cross  nursing  service  and  may  be  called  from 
her  usual  occupation  for  foreign  service  at  any  time. 

During  the  two  months  in  which  the  survey  was 
made,  414  nurses  were  withdrawn  by  the  Eed  Cross 
from  their  usual  duties  to  army  and  navy  service. 
From  present  indications,  it  may  be  estimated  that 
about  1,000  of  the  total  of  1,701  Red  Cross  nurses 
may  be  needed  during  the  next  year. 

To  replace  this  number,  there  is  a  body  of  824  pupil 
nurses  who  will  be  graduated  from  the  registered 
training  schools  of  the  city  during  1918.  Supple- 
menting this  number  are  many  nurses  who  are  being 
freed  for  other  work  by  an  increased  body  of  pupil 
nurses  in  the  training  schools.  The  training  schools 
themselves  are  admitting  a  possible  1,800  pupils  dur- 
ing the  year. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  if  the  good  training 
schools  can  be  filled  to  their  utmost  capacity,  the  city 
can  continue  to  supply  the  Red  Cross  nursing  service 
with  skilled  nurses  and  at  the  same  time  keep  the  hos- 
pitals at  home  properly  manned  and  the  public  health 
field  adequately  covered.  As  a  result  of  this  con- 
clusion, the  standing  committee  on  nursing  is  putting 

346 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

this  need  before  the  city  and  state  by  means  of  news- 
paper publicity  and  by  addresses  to  women's  clubs, 
colleges  and  high  schools,  and  their  alumnae  associa- 
tions. In  planning  this  series  of  talks,  the  commit- 
tee has  had  the  hearty  cooperation  of  Mrs.  William 
Grant  Brown  in  her  double  capacity  as  chairman  of 
the  State  Defense  Council  and  president  of  the  New 
York  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  with  its  50 
local  clubs,  and  of  Mr.  Gustav  Straubenmiiller,  acting 
superintendent  of  schools  in  New  York  City,  with  the 
result  that  the  committee's  letter  asking  that  a  day 
be  given  to  the  subject  of  nursing  was  sent  to  over 
1,000  women's  organizations. 

The  committee  is  cooperating  also  with  the  nursing 
committee  of  the  general  medical  board  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense.  The  Washington  committee  in 
its  campaign  of  publicity  sent  an  individual  let- 
ter to  each  high  school  and  college  graduate  of  1917 
throughout  the  country.  The  New  York  committee 
inclosed  with  the  Washington  letter  a  letter  offering 
the  standing  committee  on  nursing  of  the  Mayor's 
Committee  of  Women  on  National  Defense  as  a  bureau 
of  information  to  every  young  woman  in  New  York 
State,  who  may  be  interested  in  nursing.  This  letter, 
together  with  a  list  of  registered  training  schools  in 
New  York  State  issued  by  the  standing  committee  on 
nursing,  has  been  sent  to  some  3,000  graduates  of  high 
schools  and  colleges  in  New  York  State. 

The  Committee  on  Food,  Miss  Mabel  Kittredge, 
chairman,  Miss  Lilla  Frick,  Food  Committee  organ- 
izer, Miss  Margaret  C.  Rogers,  committee  secretary^ 
was  inaugurated  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the 
plans  initiated  by  federal,  state  or  private  agencies 

347 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

engaged  in  food  conservation,  and,  so  far  as  prac- 
ticable, of  putting  them  into  operation,  either  through 
existing  or  new  organizations.  It  was  its  purpose  also 
to  act  as  a  bureau  of  information  where  bulletins, 
newspaper  clippings  and  standard  printed  matter  on 
food  could  be  found.  Information  concerning  exist- 
ing organizations  dealing  with  the  food  problem  also 
is  given  out,  and  suggestions  on  food  conservation  are 
issued  through  newspapers  and  other  available  sources 
of  publicity.  But  the  chief  work  of  this  committee 
was  concerned  with  the  salvaging  of  food  that  other- 
wise would  have  been  thrown  away  at  the  piers. 

There  is  a  law  in  New  York  City  which,  while  pos- 
sibly good  in  itself,  results  in  a  tremendous  waste. 
All  the  fruits  and  vegetables  destined  for  the  markets 
must  be  examined  at  the  piers  and  terminals  by  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Board  of  Health.  Food  must  be  em- 
bargoed if  a  certain  percentage  is  bad,  although  the 
badness  is  frequently  due  merely  to  injury  in  trans- 
portation. Oranges,  grapefruits  and  lemons  are  em- 
bargoed if  20  per  cent  is  damaged;  berries  and  small 
fruits  if  24  per  cent  is  damaged ;  and  vegetables  if  15 
per  cent  is  damaged.  The  cost  and  shortage  of  labor 
and  the  difficulty  in  transportation,  together  with  the 
changing  market  often  result  in  the  consignee's  re- 
fusal to  accept,  sort  and  repack  the  food  sent  in  from 
the  farms — so  it  is  thrown  awa}^ ;  for  there  is  no  pub- 
lic storage  place  in  New  York  City,  and  the  small 
amount  of  terminal  space  makes  it  necessary  to  remove 
food  within  twenty-four  hours.  Often  as  much  as 
100,000  pounds  a  week  are  thrown  away,  even  though 
a  large  percentage  of  that  food  is  frequently  good  and 
fit  for  market. 

348 


^TATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  war  and  the  talk  of  food  conservation  brought 
forcibly  to  the  mind  of  a  member  of  the  Women's 
University  Club  the  great  wrong  of  allowing  tons  of 
food  to  go  to  waste  on  our  piers  when  within  a  few 
blocks  many  persons  were  going  without  because  of 
the  high  price  of  food.  This  condition  was  brought 
to  the  attention  of  the  Mayor's  Committee  of  Women 
who  asked  the  standing  committee  on  food  to  take  up 
the  question.  Although  this  committee  realized  it 
was  not  in  a  position  to  solve  it,  it  did  attempt  during 
the  summer  to  save  as  much  of  the  food  as  possible. 
Thus  the  standing  committee  on  food  has  carried  on 
its  main  piece  of  work  in  a  canning  kitchen  where  the 
pier  food,  after  being  salvaged,  was  preserved. 

The  work  began  July  9,  1917,  in  cooperation  with 
the  Women's  University  Club  and  the  Junior  League. 
Twenty  thousand  pounds  of  good  food  were  salvaged 
from  the  different  docks  of  New  York — all  food  which 
because  of  bad  packing,  shortage  of  labor,  rough  han- 
dling, lack  of  refrigerator  cars,  congestion,  hold-up  of 
cars  and  market  conditions,  was  condemned  as  partly 
unsound.  It  was  sorted  on  the  piers,  transported  to 
the  large  central  kitchen  and  there  distributed  in  three 
ways:  (1)  sold  to  the  neighbors  in  its  raw  state  at 
about  one-half  of  the  wholesale  rate  quoted  on  that 
day;  (2)  given  in  either  its  raw  or  preserved  state  in 
exchange  for  labor  at  the  end  of  the  day;  (3)  a  part 
of  the  remainder  sold  at  the  end  of  the  season  in  ex- 
change for  the  accumulated  labor  of  the  women 
workers. 

A  total  of  325  women  worked  at  the  canning  kitchen 
during  the  summer.  Each  worker  on  registering  at 
the  kitchen  received  a  time  card  marked  for  punching. 

349 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

At  the  end  of  the  day  each  worker's  card  was 
punched  for  every  hour  of  labor,  and  each  punch  was 
worth  20  cents.  Duplicate  cards  were  kept  by  the 
timekeeper.  The  tasks  given  out  to  the  various 
women,  who  were  of  every  nationality,  were  in  accord 
with  their  former  experience  or  their  quickness  in 
learning  a  new  occupation,  but  all  labor  was  paid  at 
the  same  rate. 

At  the  end  of  two  months,  8,963  quart  jars  and  331 
pint  jars  and  jelly  glasses  had  been  filled  with  pre- 
served fruits  and  vegetables,  in  addition  to  3  barrels 
of  sauerkraut  and  5  of  pickles.  The  food  canned 
represented  a  cash  value  in  the  raw  state  of  $3,122.18. 
The  cost  of  jars,  sugar  and  incidental  expenses  was 
$1,075.68.  Salaries  for  experts  and  overhead  ex- 
penses amounted  to  $3,064.12. 

When  the  season  was  over  the  punches  on  the  cards 
were  carefully  calculated,  and  each  worker  was  al- 
lowed to  select  such  jars  of  food  as  she  desired  to  the 
amount  punched  on  her  card.  Food  worth  $1,718.60 
was  taken  out  in  this  way,  leaving  about  3,670  jars  to 
be  sold  to  any  working  women  who  cared  to  come  and 
purchase. 

The  committee  has  been  helped  in  carrying  on  its 
work  by  the  State  and  Federal  departments  of  agri- 
culture, which  agreed  to  pay  salaries  to  the  amount  of 
$3,700.  Generous  contributions  to  the  amount  of 
$5,820  not  only  carried  on  the  work  of  salvaging, 
transporting  and  canning  food  without  a  deficit,  but 
provided  for  the  extension  of  the  community  kitchen 
work  with  a  budget  of  $2,000.  It  is  hoped  to  make 
use  of  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  City  College 
building  at  Twenty-third  Street  and  Lexington  Ave- 

350 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

nue,  where  it  is  proposed  to  establish  a  restaurant  and 
community  kitchen,  to  continue  the  preservation  of 
food,  and  carry  on  an  educational  campaign  that  will 
help  people  to  use  the  foods  recommended  by  Food 
Administrator  Hoover.  This  central  kitchen  will 
have  distributing  centers  in  various  sections  of  New 
York. 

The  canning  of  food  has  not  been  the  chief  contribu- 
tion of  the  committee.  The  most  important  result  of 
the  summer's  work  has  been  the  opportunity  to  study 
the  pier  situation  and  to  pass  along  the  knowledge 
gained  to  those  who  have  power  to  stop  the  abuse 
and  to  alleviate  the  terrible  waste  at  the  terminals. 
The  educational  advantage  to  those  who  organized  the 
kitchen  has  come  in  a  clearer  understanding  of  com- 
munity work.  This  knowledge  was  obtained  from  the 
foreign  women.  Every  nationality  enjoyed  the  so- 
ciability of  the  kitchen.  No  one  was  turned  away, 
and  each  group  contributed  in  working  out  the  food 
problem  from  its  national  point  of  view. 

The  standing  committee  on  food  has  served  as  an 
information  bureau  all  summer.  It  has  also  investi- 
gated the  foods  of  foreign-born  people  who  find  it  so 
difficult  to  substitute  the  American  product  for  the 
foods  not  now  in  the  market. 

The  Committee  on  Industry,  Miss  Amy  Aldrich, 
chairman,  began  an  investigation  of  the  replacement 
of  men  by  women  in  various  fields  of  work.  As  the 
permanent  readjustments  were  not  to  occur  until  after 
the  first  draft,  active  investigation  was  deferred  until 
autumn,  when  it  was  resumed  in  cooperation  with  the 
state  committee  on  women  in  industry  and  the  Con- 
sumers League. 

351 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  Committee  on  Publicity,  Mrs.  Charles  L.  Tif- 
fany, chairman.  Miss  Marie  de  Montalvo,  committee 
secretary,  has  done  its  work  admirably  and  the  sys- 
tem it  has  employed  is  worthy  of  imitation. 

The  Committee  on  Social  Welfare,  Mrs.  Y.  G. 
Simkhovitch,  chairman.  Miss  Helene  Pollak,  commit- 
tee secretary,  was  formed  at  the  request  of  leading 
social  workers  and  educators  of  New  York  City.  It 
has  taken  foreign  countries  several  years  to  realize 
that  social  and  civic  work  is  as  much  a  part  of  na- 
tional defense  as  drilling  and  marching.  New  York 
City  profited  by  their  experience. 

The  work  of  this  committee  has  fallen  naturally  into 
four  parts,  and  has  been  delegated  to  four  sub-com- 
mittees :  ( 1 )  the  sub-committee  on  recreation  for  sol- 
diers and  sailors,  Mrs.  Marcus  M.  Marks,  chairman; 
(2)  the  sub-committee  on  the  protection  of  girls,  Miss 
Stella  A.  Miner,  chairman;  (3)  the  sub-committee  on 
the  all-day-care  of  children,  Mrs.  Howard  S.  Cans, 
chairman;  (4)  the  sub-committee  on  service,  Mrs.  Sid- 
ney Borg,  chairman. 

The  sub-committee  on  recreation  for  soldiers  and 
sailors  was  able  to  organize  within  a  short  time  enter- 
tainments and  dances  in  neighborhood  centers  for  Na- 
tional Guardsmen  stationed  in  the  armories  of  the 
city.  Later,  *' send-off  day"  was  celebrated  in  almost 
every  district  of  the  city  by  festivities  in  the  settle- 
ments and  other  neighborhood  organizations.  The 
sub-committee  is  now  acting  as  a  clearing  house  for 
social  organizations  which  desire  to  devote  part  of 
their  buildings  to  clubrooms  or  entertainment  halls 
for  enlisted  men.  This  latter  piece  of  work  was  un- 
dertaken at  the  request  of  Mr.  Rowland  Haynes,  di- 

352 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

rector  of  the  national  service  commission  of  New  York 
City. 

The  sub-committee  on  the  protection  of  girls  has 
dealt  with  a  problem  closely  connected  with  that  of 
the  soldier  and  sailor  passing  through  the  city — the 
problem  of  the  young  girl  who  is  easily  fascinated  by 
a  uniform.  The  sub-committee  employed  at  first  two 
and  later  four  women  protective  officers  to  care  for 
such  girls.  These  officers  have  patrolled  neighbor- 
hoods where  armories  are  situated,  parks,  and  camps 
within  the  city  limits.  They  have  interviewed  hun- 
dreds of  young  girls  and  have  sent  or  taken  most  of 
them  home.  Following  the  interviews,  a  visitor  act- 
ing upon  the  information  thus  obtained  calls  at  their 
homes  to  verify  the  data  and  learn  something  of  the 
family  conditions.  Cases  which  need  medical  atten- 
tion or  other  special  care  are  then  referred  to  the 
proper  agencies.  Girls  who  lack  wholesome  recreation 
and  the  benefits  of  social  clubs  are  referred  to  the  di- 
rector of  girls'  work  under  the  national  service  com- 
mission. 

Commissioner  Woods  has  been  so  impressed  with  the 
work  of  the  women  protective  officers  that  he  asked, 
and  the  board  of  estimate  granted,  an  appropriation 
for  such  officers  in  the  police  department  during  1918. 
The  committee  feels  that  this  is  the  most  encouraging 
evidence  possible  of  the  value  of  this  work. 

The  sub-committee  on  the  all-day  care  of  children 
has  undertaken  to  try  to  solve  the  problem  of  caring 
for  children  whose  parents  are  both  forced  tc  work 
outside  of  the  home  because  of  war  conditions.  The 
committee  has  selected  one  of  the  poorest  districts  in 
the  city  for  investigating  the  cases  of  these  children, 

353 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

and  a  constructive  experiment  in  caring  for  them  in 
connection  with  the  public  schools  is  planned  for  the 
future. 

The  sub-committee  on  service  has  constituted  itself 
an  information  bureau  for  social  agencies  in  war  time. 
A  registration  of  the  chief  social  agencies  in  the  city, 
giving  information  as  to  where  and  how  the  war  has 
forced  a  curtailment  of  their  ordinary  activities,  is  on 
file.  A  list  of  all  training  courses  for  volunteer  so- 
cial workers  has  been  prepared  by  the  committee  and 
will  be  published. 

In  trying  to  deal  with  the  social  problems  incident 
to  the  war  in  a  city  the  size  of  New  York,  the  com- 
mittee on  social  welfare  as  a  whole  has  contented  itself 
thus  far  with  undertaking  definite  pieces  of  con- 
structive work.  Through  this  method,  it  is  felt  that 
light  can  best  be  thrown  upon  the  needs,  and  solutions 
most  forcefully  worked  out.  As  these  experimental 
pieces  of  work  are  tried  and  proved,  they  will  be  pre- 
sented to  the  city  and  to  groups  of  citizens  for  de- 
velopment in  more  extensive  fashion. 

With  the  retirement  of  Mayor  Mitchel  the  entire 
personnel  of  the  Mayor's  Committee  was  changed. 
Mayor  Hylan  has  asked  Mrs.  William  Randolph 
Hearst  to  act  as  chairman  of  the  Woman's  Committee 
and  to  select  her  own  committee. 

North  Carolina.  Mrs.  Eugene  Reilley,  the  very 
capable  chairman  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the 
Council  of  National  Defense  for  North  Carolina,  is 
also  a  member  of  the  State  Council  of  Defense,  having 
been  appointed  before  she  was  made  chairman  of  the 
Woman 's  Committee.  Mrs.  Reilley  is  also  second  vice 
president  of  the   General   Federation  of  Women's 

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STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Clubs.  North  Carolina  furnishes  another  example  of 
commendable  cooperation.  When  the  State  Council 
heard  that  the  Woman's  Committee  was  planning  a 
state  conference  they  asked  that  the  meeting  be  made 
a  joint  one,  and  a  splendid  meeting  of  this  character 
was  held  early  in  October,  1917. 

Of  one  phase  of  North  Carolina's  excellent  war 
work  Mrs.  Reilley  says:  "We  have  a  cantonment 
here  in  Charlotte  and  all  the  organizations  in  Char- 
lotte are  not  only  doing  their  'bit'  to  make  the  sol- 
diers feel  at  home,  but  they  are  doing  their  utmost. 
There  is  a  dance  or  a  reception  or  an  entertainment 
of  some  description  going  on  all  their  free  moments. 
The  churches  and  libraries  have  all  provided  rest 
rooms  with  literature,  stationery,  etc.,  for  their  use. 
Everyone  takes  from  two  to  four  soldiers  home  to 
dinner  after  church  on  Sunday.  In  Liberty  Hall 
Chapter  D.  A.  R.  we  have  entertained  sixty  soldiers  at 
Sunday  dinner.  We  have  also  given  a  reception  to 
the  Second  Regiment  North  Dakota  Infantry  to  which 
all  the  officers  and  their  wives  were  invited  and  the 
band  played  on  the  lawn.  This  is  a  sample  of  what 
all  the  women's  organizations  in  town  are  doing.  I 
have  had  Australia,  San  Francisco  and  Boston  all 
represented  at  my  table  at  one  meal. 

''We  are  also  having  Girls'  Clubs  to  direct  the  at- 
tention of  the  girls  to  patriotic  service.  We  have  a 
law  that  all  girls  under  twenty  unchaperoned  shall  be 
off  the  streets  by  nine  o'clock.  All  soldiers  must  be 
at  the  camp  at  eleven  unless  a  permit  is  given.  The 
very  best  conditions  prevail.  The  men  from  the 
Northwest  are  a  splendid  lot  of  men  and  consequently 
no  disorder  occurs.  *' 

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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  first  work  of  the  Committee  was,  of  course,  or- 
ganization. The  work  of  organizing  a  large  state  like 
North  Carolina,  with  its  hundreds  of  counties,  is  no 
small  task,  but  the  North  Carolina  women  are  ac- 
complishing it  rapidly.  The  method  chosen  was  ac- 
cording to  congressional  districts,  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Committee  being  assigned  to  each  district. 

The  constructive  work  of  the  North  Carolina  Di- 
vision is  expressed  through  several  departments  and 
committees  and  the  women  are  making  their  plans 
not  only  for  the  tasks  of  war  but  for  the  tasks  of 
peace,  and  are  meeting  their  duties  with  wisdom, 
courage  and  devotion.  Mrs.  Lindsay  Patterson  is 
chairman  of  Food  Production  and  North  Carolina  has 
a  slogan,  *'A  Garden  for  Every  Home  the  Year 
Around."  North  Carolina  has  been  very  active  in 
food  conservation,  the  county  chairman  cooperating 
with  the  county  demonstrators  of  the  state  agricul- 
tural colleges.  The  distribution  of  the  food-pledge 
cards  was  followed  by  demonstrations  in  scientific 
methods  of  canning,  drying  and  preserving  food. 
Community  canneries  have  been  established  in  some 
places  and  in  others  private  classes  have  been  formed. 
In  the  latter  the  demonstrators  have  instructed  with 
the  understanding  that  the  women  having  the  privi- 
lege of  this  instruction  would  in  turn  give  their  serv- 
ices in  teaching  others.  Of  the  food  conservation 
work  in  North  Carolina  Mrs.  Reilley  very  cleverly 
says:  ^'We  have  talked  and  thought  food  so  much 
that  we  are  in  great  danger  of  mental  indigestion. 
However,  since  this  is  the  way  to  win  the  war,  we 
may  be  preserving  peace  in  family  jars — though 
you  know  some  men  object  to  this  kind  of  economy.'* 

356 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Mrs.  Leonard  Tufts  is  chairman  of  Public  Health 
and  Mrs.  Lucy  Robertson  is  chairman  of  Child  Wel- 
fare, and  in  both  departments  valuable  work  has  been 
done.  Very  creditable  also  is  the  work  that  has  been 
done  by  Mrs.  R.  J.  Reynolds,  chairman  of  Liberty 
Loan,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Waddell,  chairman  of  Home  and 
Allied  Relief,  and  Mrs.  Whiteford  Smith,  chairman 
of  Health  and  Recreation.  Training  classes  have  been 
established  for  the  purpose  of  instructing  women  in 
the  occupations  where  there  is  great  need  of  service. 
Business  colleges  of  the  state  have  cooperated  in 
courses  in  shorthand  and  typewriting,  and  the  West- 
ern Union  Telegraph  Company  has  supplied  teachers 
in  telegraphy  for  classes  of  twenty-five.  Miss  Mary 
Arrington  has  charge  of  this  work.  One  interesting 
feature  of  the  work  of  the  North  Carolina  Division  is 
the  way  in  which  the  chairman  keeps  in  close  touch 
with  the  sub-chairmen  of  the  state  and  with  the  State 
Council  of  Defense  and  the  entire  work  has  been 
along  most  constructive  lines. 

The  officers  are:  chairman,  Mrs.  Eugene  Reilley, 
Charlotte;  first  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  Palmer  Jerman, 
Raleigh;  second  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  William  N. 
Reynolds,  Winston-Salem;  honorary  chairmen,  Mrs. 
Thomas  W.  Bickett,  Raleigh;  Mrs.  Josephus  Daniels, 
Raleigh;  Mrs.  Robert  R.  Cotten,  Bruce;  secretary, 
Mrs.  Lyman  Cotten,  Salisbury;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Eu- 
gene Sternberger.  Chairmen  of  standing  committees 
are:  Registration,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Waddell,  Henderson; 
Food  Production,  Mrs.  Lindsey-Patterson,  Winston- 
Salem  ;  Food  Conservation  and  Home  Economics,  Mrs. 
Jane  McKimmon,  Raleigh ;  Women  in  Industry,  Mrs. 
F.  C.  Abbot,  Charlotte;  Child  Welfare,  Dr.  Margaret 

357 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Castex  Sturgis,  Lenoir ;  Social  Service,  Miss  Gertrude 
Weil,  Goldsboro;  Education,  Miss  Mary  Arrington, 
Rocky  Mount ;  Home  andr  Foreign  Relief,  Mrs.  A.  M. 
Waddell,  Wilmington;  Health  and  Recreation,  Mrs. 
Whitef ord  Smith,  Asheville ;  Publicity,  Miss  Julia  A. 
Thorne,  Ashboro;  Finance,  Mrs.  Felix  Harvey,  Kins- 
ton  ;  Public  Health,  Mrs.  Leonard  Tufts,  Pinehurst. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
NORTH  DAKOTA  AND  OHIO 

W.  C.  T.  U.  and  Suffrage  Association  initiate  war  work 
in  North  Dakota — Eighty  towns  completely  organized 
—Stirring  letter  from  State  Chairman — Work  of 
women  in  cities  of  Ohio — How  state  defense  work  is 
organized — What  women  have  done  in  Cincinnati, 
Cleveland  and  Toledo. 

North  Dakota,  The  club  women  of  North  Dakota 
met  on  April  24,  1917,  with  representatives  of  the 
State  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  and  the 
State  Suffrage  Association  for  the  purpose  of  plan- 
ning what  part  the  clubs  of  the  state  should  take  in 
patriotic  aid.  Feeling  that  there  would  be  much  du- 
plication of  effort  among  the  many  women's  organiza- 
tions of  the  state,  the  presidents  of  the  state  W.  C.  T. 
U.  and  the  Suffrage  league  were  called  to  the  meeting. 
The  presidents  of  the  three  organizations  agreed  to 
serve  as  a  central  committee  and  to  urge  the  coopera- 
tion of  their  organizations  along  three  lines  of  work 
with  a  state  chairman  for  each  line  of  work,  namely, 
to  work  along  lines  designated  by  the  Red  Cross,  to 
increase  food  products  and  to  eliminate  waste,  and 
for  certified  registration  of  women.  In  May  a  call 
came  to  the  state  from  the  woman's  committee  of  the 
Council  of  National  Defense  asking  Mrs.  Frank  White 
of  Valley  City  to  serve  as  temporary  chairman  and 

359 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

call  a  meeting  of  the  heads  of  all  women's  organiza- 
tions in  the  state  for  organization  for  work  under 
their  direction.  This  was  done  June  1.  Eight 
women's  organizations  were  represented  and  Mrs. 
Mary  D.  Weible  represented  the  State  Council  of  De- 
fense. They  perfected  an  organization  to  be  known 
as  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National 
Defense,  North  Dakota  division,  and  simply  enlarged 
upon  the  organization  of  April  24  by  retaining  the 
officers  and  adding  three  departments  of  work  with 
chairmen  for  each.  The  name  of  Mrs.  Mary  D.  Weible 
was  added  as  vice-president. 

The  State  Federation,  the  Grand  Chapter  0.  E.  S., 
Daughters  of  Rebekahs,  and  Woman 's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union  contributed  to  the  support  of  the  work. 
Within  a  short  time  eighty  towns  reported  complete 
organizations.  Especially  interesting  and  successful 
was  the  plan  followed  by  Mrs.  0.  L.  Saterton,  of 
Grand  Forks,  who  sent  out  over  two  hundred  circular 
letters,  over  a  thousand  leaflets  of  instructions  for 
Red  Cross  sewing;  placed  samples  in  circulation  and 
answered  hundreds  of  inquiries  concerning  the  work 
at  a  time  when  information  was  hard  to  get.  Many 
circles  began  work  under  her  instruction  and  later 
formed  auxiliaries  or  chapters. 

Mrs.  Clark  W.  Kelley,  of  Devil 's  Lake,  had  charge  of 
food  production,  and  many  bulletins  were  sent  out 
urging  the  necessity  of  planting  garden  seed.  The 
Committee  cooperated  with  the  home  economics  work- 
ers of  the  Agricultural  College  Extension  Department. 
Mrs.  Kelley  urged  garden  club  work  and  encouraged 
the  boys  and  girls  to  raise  sheep  and  pigs. 

Miss  May  McDonald,  chairman  Home  Economics  in 
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STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Extension,  North  Dakota  Agricultural  College,  Fargo, 
had  charge  of  i'ood  conservation,  and  from  May  1  to 
August  1,  1917,  held  296  demonstrations  with  a  total 
attendance  of  26,962.  She  gave  out  more  than  100,- 
000  specially  prepared  letters,  and  distributed  3,000 
bulletins. 

Mrs.  J.  E.  Featherstone,  Valley  City,  who  had 
charge  of  registration,  was  very  successful,  as  w^as 
Mrs.  J.  E.  Stevens  Lawton,  who  had  charge  of  health 
and  welfare  of  children. 

The  letters  sent  by  the  state  chairman,  Mrs.  Vick, 
are  so  ringing  in  their  appeal  and  seem  so  vital  and 
impelling,  it  is  no  wonder  they  brought  results.  Who 
could  resist  such  a  call  as  this : 

There  never  was  a  greater  challenge  to  the  womanhood 
of  the  country  than  that  made  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  women  for  voluntary  enrollment  in  this 
league  for  food  conservation.  North  Dakota  women  must 
answer  the  call.  We  must  use  our  ingenuity  as  never 
before. 

Will  you  call  a  committee  meeting  of  the  heads  of  all 
women's  organizations  in  your  community  and  plan  a  rous- 
ing "Food  Conservation"  meeting?  Plan  the  best  program 
possible.  Arrange  for  an  exchange  of  economy  ideas. 
Have  a  committee  make  posters  to  be  distributed  for 
kitchen  decoration.  Have  good  speakers  or  good  papers 
read.  If  possible,  distribute  bulletins.  Have  patriotic 
music.  Make  certain  that  every  woman  attends,  if  auto- 
mobile service  is  necessary  to  get  her.  Establish  a  nursery 
to  take  care  of  babies  and  young  children  so  that  they  may 
not  be  an  excuse.  Overcome  every  obstacle.  When  the 
meeting  is  over,  report  it  to  as  many  newspapers  as  pos- 
sible and  lend  your  ideas  and  enthusiasm  to  all  who  may 
read.    Make   certain   that   every  woman   signs   a   Hoover 

361 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

card.  I  hope  every  North  Dakota  home  will  display  a 
Hoover  window  tag.  The  pledge  cards  may  be  secured 
from  the  office  of  the  County  Superintendent  of  Schools. 

Will  you  please  do  this  at  once  and  report  your  meeting 
to  Mrs.  Clendenning. 

Relying  on  you,  I  am,  etc. 

Later  Mrs.  Vick  sent  out  another  letter  in  which  she 
said: 

How  shall  North  Dakota  rank  with  those  of  other  states 
in  this  work?  It  depends  upon  the  women  of  our  various 
communities. 

Will  local  committees  already  named  please  meet  at  once, 
consult  with  the  mayor  of  your  community  or  city,  and 
call  a  meeting  of  all  of  your  people?  Will  you  not  or- 
ganize a  "Patriotic  Club"  consisting  of  men,  women  and 
children?  Will  you  please  name  departments  of  work 
suited  to  your  locality?  Will  your  Secretary  please  report 
your  organization  to  Mrs.  Clendenning  at  Wimbledon? 
Both  men  and  women  are  receiving  directions  for  work. 
Would  it  not  be  well  for  all  to  meet  together  and  correlate 
all  this?  Have  you  somebody  in  your  community  who  will 
guide  the  work  of  your  children?  They  should  have  their 
small  gardens,  they  should  be  making  scrap  books,  they 
should  be  directed  in  various  Knes  of  activity  that  will  instill 
patriotism  and  make  them  feel  that  they  are  doing  their 
bit.  Arrange  for  a  patriotic  meeting  of  the  club  at  stated 
times  where  reports  of  the  various  departments  of  work 
should  be  reported.  Patriotic  speeches  should  be  made. 
There  should  be  much  singing.  Children  should  appear  on 
these  programs  in  patriotic  drills.  The  Chairmen  of  our 
state  departments  of  work  are  ready  to  aid  you.  We  urge 
the  formation  of  Red  Cross  organizations. 

Miss  McDonald  and  Miss  Newton  are  doing  a  wonderful 
work  in  the  talks  and  canning  demonstrations  they  are  giv- 

362 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

ing.    Is  every  woman  in  your  community  realizing  the  need 
of  being  present  at  these  meetings? 

Please  organize  at  once.  Report  organization  and  work 
planned  to  Mrs.  Clendenning.  She  will  report  to  me  and  to 
the  Woman's  Committee  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  officers  are:  chairman,  Mrs.  H.  G.  Vick,  Cava- 
lier; vice  chairman,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Preston  Ander- 
son, Fargo ;  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  Mary  Darrow  Weible, 
Fargo;  secretary,  Mrs.  Grace  Clendenning,  Wimble- 
don; treasurer,  Mrs.  Maud  Stanley,  Casselton.  De- 
partment Chairmen :  Registration,  Mrs.  Frank  White, 
Valley  City;  Food  Production,  Mrs.  Clark  Kelly, 
Devils  Lake;  Food  Conservation,  Miss  Mae  McDon- 
ald, Fargo;  Red  Cross,  Mrs.  0.  L.  Sateren,  Grand 
Forks;  Protection  of  Women  Workers,  Miss  Aldyth 
Ward,  Bismarck;  Health  and  Welfare  of  Children, 
I\Irs.  J.  E.  Stevens,  Lawton. 

The  spirit  of  North  Dakota  is  shown  by  the  attitude 
of  Rev.  Kenneth  J.  Maclnnes  of  that  state,  who  offers 
to  visit  every  family  in  a  parish  seventeen  miles  long 
and  eight  miles  wide  and  personally  register  the 
women.  Pastor  Maclnnes  preaches  in  the  Forest 
River  and  Ardoch  churches  and  writes  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  that  he 
is  too  old  for  the  trenches  and  has  no  boys,  but  he 
*' feels  a  great  debt  to  Uncle  Sam — God  bless  him"— 
and  he  offers  his  services  to  his  country.  The  women 
of  his  parish  gave  a  picnic  under  the  trees  of  Walsh 
County,  North  Dakota,  and  raised  $653  for  the  Red 
Cross.  **I  am  convinced  that  nothing  mil  bring 
larger  results  in  the  end,"  said  Mrs.  Joseph  Lamar  of 
Georgia,  member  of  the  Woman *s  Committee,  ''than 
just  such  gatherings  as  these,  and  they  should  be  en- 

363 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

couraged.  The  Committee  sent  200  pledge  cards  to 
the  pastor  to  be  distributed  along  the  seventeen-mile 
road  of  his  parish. 

Ohio.  While  the  organization  of  the  women  of 
Ohio  under  the  Woman's  Committee  may  not  be  as 
closely  knit  as  that  in  some  other  states,  it  is  doubtful 
if  the  women  in  any  state  have  worked  harder  or  ac- 
complished more  than  have  the  women  of  Ohio,  espe- 
cially in  the  large  cities  of  the  state.  Ohio  is  a  very 
strongly  organized  club  state,  the  Federated  Clubs 
being  one  of  the  largest  and  strongest  organizations  in 
the  state,  and  having  among  its  membership  a  won- 
derful cohesion.  In  addition  to  the  Federated  Clubs 
there  are  many  other  organizations  of  various  kinds 
doing  constructive  patriotic  work  and  hundreds  of 
unorganized  women  are  also  enlisting  in  the  Nation's 
great  army  of  women. 

The  State  Council  of  Defense  of  Ohio  was  organized 
somewhat  differently  from  that  of  other  states.  The 
Governor  appointed  a  war  cabinet  of  twenty-eight 
members  without  legislative  action.  There  is  also  a 
very  active  food  commission  which  is  state-wide  and 
which  operates  through  the  state  university.  This 
commission  controls  thirty-six  farm  bureaus,  and  it  is 
under  the  commission  that  Miss  Georgia  White  of  the 
state  university  has  carried  on  with  signal  success  the 
educational  side  of  the  food  conservation  program. 
The  Governor  has  also  appointed  a  food  and  crop 
commissioner  in  each  of  the  eighty-five  counties. 
Notable  also  is  the  work  of  Mr.  Croxton  of  the  State 
Council,  who  heads  the  Department  of  Labor  and  In- 
dustry and  through  whose  efforts  twenty-one  employ- 
ment divisions  have  been  established  throughout  the 

364 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

state  with  a  clearing  house  and  a  general  director  in 
the  state  capital.  This  committee  handles  all  labor, 
male  and  female,  through  its  free  employment  centers, 
and  27,000  people  were  placed  during  the  month  of 
July,  1917. 

The  state  chairman,  Mrs.  Zimmerman,  conducts  her 
work  through  Mr.  Croxton  and  through  Mr.  Howell 
Wright,  Executive  Secretary  of  the  State  Council  of 
Defense.  Mr.  Wright  made  a  survey  of  county  or- 
ganizations and  conditions  in  order  to  proceed  intelli- 
gently with  the  organization  of  both  men  and  women 
for  war  work.  Ohio  was  not  prompt  to  undertake  a 
complete  registration  as  was  undertaken  in  other  states. 
But  the  State  Council  went  on  record  as  favoring  a 
compulsory  registration  of  men  and  women  at  "some 
future  date."  Dr.  Hollingshead,  head  of  the  Child 
Hygiene  Department  under  the  State  Public  Health 
Board,  has  done  some  very  interesting  constructive 
work.  Both  Dr.  Hollingshead  and  Miss  White  have 
great  ability  and  are  full  of  enthusiasm  for  their  re- 
spective departments.  They  both  know  conditions  at 
first  hand  all  over  the  state  and  their  experience  is  of 
great  value.  The  State  Division  is  recognized  as  the 
Woman's  Auxiliary  to  the  State  Council.  Stationery 
is  provided  and  Miss  White  and  Dr.  Hollingshead 
and  other  officials  of  the  Woman's  Committee  are 
invited  to  work  under  the  State  Council. 

The  work  in  Cincinnati,  though  difficult,  has  been 
growing  steadily  in  value  and  interest.  IMiss  Shillito 
has  been  doing  a  commendable  work  in  connection 
with  the  camps.  The  mayor  of  Cincinnati  has  ap- 
pointed six  women  on  his  City  Defense  Committee 
and  the  women  of  the  city  have  worked  effectively  in 

365 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

all  branches  of  war  service,  notably  the  Red  Cross 
and  the  Navy  League.  A  splendid  work  has  been 
done  in  the  schools  of  Cincinnati  where  penny  lunch- 
eons were  served  and  where  free  extension  courses  in 
telegraphy  were  given  to  over  300  girls.  Miss  Strong 
has  organized  the  home  economics  work  of  the  city 
and  Miss  Edith  Campbell  trained  125  women  as  visi- 
tors for  Red  Cross  civilian  relief. 

The  women  of  Cleveland,  in  forming  the  unit  for 
the  Ohio  Division  of  the  Woman 's  Committee,  adopted 
much  of  the  program  for  conservation  and  thrift 
which  had  been  started  by  the  Suffrage  Society,  as 
well  as  that  undertaken  by  the  Consumers'  League 
under  Miss  Jones  for  the  women  in  industry.  By 
this  wise  course  none  of  the  good  work  undertaken 
was  abated,  but  was  merely  centralized  in  the  Cleve- 
land unit.  The  women  of  Cleveland  continued  and 
intensified  the  excellent  work  they  had  been  doing 
along  many  lines,  including  investigation  into  the 
high  cost  of  milk,  consideration  of  new  ordinances  for 
the  improvement  of  markets,  the  use  of  volunteers  in 
local  charities,  classes  for  training  such  volunteers, 
etc.  These  women  formulated  very  carefully  their 
plans  for  the  training  of  registrars,  so  that  registra- 
tion might  be  done  with  a  maximum  of  efficiency. 
Cleveland  is  wonderfully  well  organized  along  lines 
of  charity  federation  and  social  welfare.  Expert 
leaders  in  these  fields  offered  their  cooperation  most 
heartily  in  the  newly  organized  war  work. 

The  work  in  Toledo  under  Miss  Fannie  Harnit  is 
deserving  of  especial  mention.  To  Miss  Harnit  be- 
longs the  credit  of  having  organized  the  first  great 
patriotic  society  of  women  in  the  city.    As  early  as 

366 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

March,  1917,  she  called  a  meeting  of  fifteen  of  the 
heads  of  local  societies,  including  the  State  Federa- 
tion of  Women's  Clubs,  the  D.  A.  R.,  and  others. 
Each  of  these  fifteen  women  was  asked  to  choose  ten 
representative  women  from  her  organization  to  decide 
on  a  plan,  and  from  this  larger  meeting  developed  a 
patriotic  league  for  woman's  service  which  later  be- 
came affiliated  with  the  National  League  for  Woman 's 
Service.  This  organization,  perfected  as  it  was  in 
wards  and  precincts,  formed  the  basis  for  the  prac- 
tical and  splendid  war  work  that  has  since  been  done 
by  Toledo  women.  The  Patriotic  League  received  the 
highest  indorsement  of  the  men  of  the  community  and 
rendered  great  assistance  to  the  Red  Cross  in  its  va- 
rious undertakings.  A  great  deal  was  also  accom- 
plished in  food  conservation,  in  the  Liberty  Loan  cam- 
paign and  in  every  other  branch  of  war  service  for 
women.  So  active  was  this  organization  and  so  prac- 
tical was  the  work  it  was  doing  that  it  was  continued 
as  the  Toledo  unit  of  the  Woman's  Committee,  and 
the  constructive  work  already  begun  developed  in 
every  direction. 

One  of  the  most  notable  contributions  the  Toledo 
women  have  made  to  war  work  was  their  united  serv- 
ice with  the  men  in  the  establishment  of  27,000  war 
gardens  in  the  city.  One  garden  of  17  acres  was 
divided  into  110  plots  which  were  worked  by  110  in- 
dividuals. 

The  officers  are:  chairman,  Mrs.  George  Zimmer- 
man, Fremont ;  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  Samuel  B.  Sneath, 
Tiffin;  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  Laurence  IMaxwell,  Cin- 
cinnati; vice  chairman,  Mrs.  W.  0.  Thompson,  Co- 
lumbus ;  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  Malcolm  McBride,  Cleve- 

367 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

land;  secretary,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Wolf,  Dayton;  treas- 
urer, Mrs.  Clarence  E.  Mack,  Cincinnati.  Food  Ad- 
ministration :  Miss  Edna  N.  White,  0.  S.  University, 
Columbus;  Women  in  Industry:  Miss  Myrta  Jones, 
Cleveland ;  Child  Welfare :  Dr.  Frances  M.  Hollings- 
head,  Ohio  State  Board  of  Health,  Columbus ;  Liberty 
Loan :  Mrs.  Minerva  Kline  Brooks,  Cleveland. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

0KLAH0:MA,  PENNSYLVANIA,  OREGON  AND 
KHODE  ISLAND 

Oklahoma  women  wide  awake — Work  to  eliminate 
commercial  wast.e — Efforts  in  interest  of  lamilies  of 
enlisted  men — Pennsylvania's  wonderful  record  in  war 
work — Chester  County  model  for  the  nation— Women's 
organizations  in  Oregon  constitute  Woman's  Commit- 
tee— Club  women  active — Rhode  Island  women  distin- 
guish themselves  by  taking  military  census. 

Oklahoma,  ''The  Oklahoma  women  are  very  wide 
awake  and  are  doing  their  'bit'  with  willing  hands 
and  happy  hearts  in  the  service  of  their  country," 
said  Mrs.  Eugene  B.  Lawson,  of  Nowata,  chairman 
for  Oklahoma. 

Practically  every  county  in  the  state  is  organized. 
Besides  a  chairman  in  each  county,  there  is  a  vice 
chairman  located  in  Oklahoma  City,  Mrs.  E.  Z.  Wal- 
lower;  Miss  Gertrude  Strahl  has  charge  of  jMuskogee 
and  Mrs.  C.  E.  Lahman  of  Tulsa;  Tulsa  and  Oklahoma 
City  established  exchange  markets  which  were  strik- 
ingly successful. 

Books  and  magazines  were  sent  to  the  soldiers  in 
training  at  Fort  Sill  (Lawton)  Oklahoma,  and  in  each 
county  the  soldiers  who  have  left  for  training  have 
been  given  entertainments,  equipment  kits  and  every- 
thing that  seemed  due  them  in  recognition  of  their 
patriotic  undertaking. 

369 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

At  the  state  and  county  fairs  patriotic  demonstra- 
tion day  was  observed,  with  patriotic  speaking,  etc., 
and  the  Council  of  Defense  and  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee worked  very  harmoniously  over  the  state  in 
perfecting  the  organization  of  defense  work. 

Oklahoma  has  done  exceptional  work  along  four 
lines  as  follows:  (a)  food  production  and  conserva- 
tion; (b)  publicity  for  patriotism;  (c)  maintaining 
school  standards;  (d)  Liberty  Loan.  The  work  is 
financed  by  the  State  Council. 

Particularly  effective  was  the  work  of  the  women 
of  Oklahoma  City  under  Mrs.  Wallower.  The  es- 
tablishment of  a  central  market  where  unsaleable  sup- 
plies were  sold  at  a  very  low  figure  to  people  of  small 
means,  and  aggressive  steps  to  eliminate  commercial 
waste,  were  among  the  early  enterprises  of  the  Okla- 
homa City  women.  All  of  the  wholesale  and  retail 
stores  of  the  city  were  canvassed.  Surplus  fruit  and 
vegetables  which  otherwise  would  be  thrown  away, 
were  procured  at  a  time  convenient  to  the  grocers, 
when  a  committee  of  young  women,  headed  by  Miss 
Ethelyn  Johnson,  called  in  their  automobiles  for  the 
produce  and  took  it  to  a  central  place.  There  the 
food  was  sorted  and  arranged  and  sold  one  evening 
of  the  week  at  a  very  low  price.  The  growers  were 
asked  to  cooperate  in  this  plan  which  was  designed  to 
aid  them  also.  Farmers  who  had  fruit  and  vegetables 
spoiling  on  the  ground,  and  who  were  willing  to  do- 
nate them,  were  asked  to  notify  the  Committee. 

In  connection  with  the  elimination  of  commercial 
waste,  a  committee  made  an  investigation  of  the  sale 
of  bread  in  Oklahoma  City.  This  information  was 
requested  by  Dr.  Stratton  D.  Brooks,  the  federal  food 

370 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

administrator  for  Oklahoma,  who  in  turn  passed  it 
on  to  Mr.  Hoover. 

It  was  ascertained  that  the  prevailing  loaf  size  by 
weight  is  supposed  to  be  a  pound,  but  it  varies  from 
14  to  19  ounces,  and  that  this  loaf  sells  for  10  cents. 
A  larger  loaf  varies  in  weight  from  20  to  23  ounces. 
It  is  known  as  the  pound  and  a  quarter  loaf  and  sells 
for  15  cents  retail.  There  are  no  chain  stores  or  de- 
partment stores  selling  bread  so  far  as  the  committee 
could  ascertain. 

The  dispatch  and  thoroughness  with  which  the 
Oklahoma  City  women  organized  is  inspirational. 
The  city  committee  is  organized  along  the  following 
lines :  finance,  economics  and  food  conservation,  regis- 
tration and  war  relief  work.  One  of  the  most  inter- 
esting and  important  of  its  enterprises  was  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  educational  department  and  food 
facts  bureau,  to  fill  a  practical  need.  To  carry  on 
this  work,  Mrs.  Wallower  selected  officers — an  execu- 
tive board,  consisting  of  chairmen  of  various  commit- 
tees. The  committee  encouraged  the  planting  of  com- 
munity gardens,  the  utilization  of  vacant  lots  and 
home  gardens  in  back  yards.  It  established  canning 
stations  throughout  the  city  to  care  for  vegetables  that 
otherwise  might  be  wasted,  and  to  comply  with  Presi- 
dent Wilson's  call  to  use  what  is  grown  near  by  and 
thus  to  save  transportation,  and  to  have  food  to  do- 
nate this  coming  winter  where  there  is  a  shortage. 
These  canning  stations  are  open  to  the  farmer,  the 
amateur  or  the  professional,  who  may  bring  food  there 
to  be  canned.  In  the  work  of  food  conservation,  the 
city  is  divided  into  neighborhood  districts  under  the 
leadership  of  a  committee  of  chairmen,  of  which  Mrs. 

371 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Thomas  G.  Chambers  is  the  head.  These  centers  are 
presided  over  by  local  chairmen,  who,  through  a 
house-to-house  canvass,  draw  in  the  unorganized 
women  until  each  center  is  thoroughly  representative 
of  the  locality.  These  workers  acquaint  those  not  al- 
ready informed  of  the  world  situation,  and  particu- 
larly the  food  shortage.  They  tell  the  people  definite 
things  to  do,  and  wherever  possible,  show  the  unini- 
tiated how  to  do  them.  District  meetings  are  held  to 
which  women  from  the  central  bureau  will  go  to  give 
short,  interesting  talks,  and  when  possible,  practical 
demonstrations  are  added.  In  this  capacity,  the  com- 
mittee sought  the  cooperation  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, in  order  that  the  schools  with  their  domestic 
science  equipment  might  be  available. 

The  war  relief  committee  was  formed  through  the 
agency  of  the  woman's  committee.  This  committee 
undertook  to  make  a  list  of  the  married  men  who  are 
in  active  service,  so  that  any  of  their  families  left 
without  support  might  receive  assistance.  Relief  is 
also  given  visiting  soldiers  who  may  be  stranded. 

The  state  officers  are:  chairman,  Mrs.  Eugene  B. 
Lawson,  Nowata;  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  E.  Z.  Wallower, 
Oklahoma  City;  vice  chairman.  Miss  Gertrude  Strahl, 
Muskogee;  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  C.  E.  Lahman,  Tulsa; 
secretary,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Burns,  Nowata;  treasurer,  Mrs. 
Lee  Clinton,  Tulsa.  Information  and  Publicity :  Miss 
Edith  Johnson,  Oklahoma  City;  Registration:  Mrs. 
Tom  Hope,  Ada;  Child  Welfare:  Dr.  Leila  E.  Ander- 
son, Oklahoma  City ;  Liberty  Loan :  Mrs.  C.  N.  Ames, 
Oklahoma  City;  Home  and  Foreign  Relief:  Mrs.  G. 
A.  Brown,  Mangum;  Finance:  Mrs.  Lee  Clinton, 
Tulso;  Speakers'  Bureau:    Mrs.  Tom  Hope,  Ada. 

372 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Pennsylvania.  The  war  work  of  the  women  of 
Pennsylvania  furnishes  an  exceedingly  interesting 
chapter  in  the  history  of  America's  war  activities. 
There  are  a  number  of  large  well-organized  defense 
and  war  relief  organizations  in  the  state,  each  of 
which  maintains  its  individuality  and  all  of  which 
are  coordinated  under  the  Pennsylvania  Division  of 
the  Council  of  National  Defense.  One  of  the  most 
important  of  these  is  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety 
for  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  the  function 
of  which  is  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  the  Common- 
wealth in  time  of  war.  Among  other  things  it  is  to 
give  aid  to  all  forms  of  enlistment  for  the  army  and 
navy;  to  bring  about  unified  action  in  behalf  of  all 
nonmilitary  and  semimilitary  organizations,  and  to 
consider  with  the  utmost  care  the  state's  industrial 
resources  and  transportation  facilities  with  respect  to 
availability  and  importance  to  the  nation  in  any 
crisis  of  its  activities. 

The  Pennsylvania  Division  of  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  has  har- 
moniously and  enthusiastically  come  under  the  plan 
of  organization  suggested  by  the  National  "Woman  ^s 
Committee  at  Washington.  It  has  stated  its  particu- 
lar function  and  the  way  in  which  these  functions  will 
be  carried  out  briefly  and  clearly  and  the  information 
in  printed  form  has  been  broadly  distributed  to  the 
women  of  the  state.  The  chairman  of  the  Committee 
is  Mrs.  J.  Willis  Martin.  The  vice  chairmen  are: 
Mrs.  John  C.  Groome,  ]\Irs.  Edward  S.  Lindsey,  Miss 
Ann  McCormick,  Mrs.  John  0.  IMiller,  Mrs.  Thomas 
Eobins,  and  Mrs.  Edward  P.  Stotesbury.  Mrs.  H.  S. 
Prentiss  Nichols  is  secretary  and  Miss  Helen  Fleisher 

373 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAB 

is  treasurer.  The  Department  chairmen  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Eegistration :  Mrs.  Walter  King  Sharpe ;  Food 
Production:  Mrs.  Louis  Piollet;  Food  Conservation: 
Mrs.  Charles  M.  Lea;  Women  in  Industry:  Mrs. 
Thomas  Robins ;  Child  Welfare :  Mrs.  Edwin  L.  Mat- 
tern;  Maintenance  of  Existing  Social  Agencies:  Mrs. 
Helen  Glenn  Tyson;  Liberty  Loan:  Mrs.  John  L. 
Miller ;  Home  and  Foreign  Relief :  Mrs.  Reed  A.  Mor- 
gan; Health  and  Recreation:  Mrs.  John  Gribbel. 

Fifty-four  counties  in  Pennsylvania  have  perfect 
working  organizations,  each  county  being  organized 
under  the  same  departments  as  the  state.  Chester 
County  is  called  the  Model  County  of  Pennsylvania 
and  the  chairman  of  this  county,  Miss  Martha  G. 
Thomas,  has  done  an  especially  valuable  work. 

The  American  Red  Cross  in  Pennsylvania  is  divided 
ifnto  three  main  classes.  The  Administrative  Division 
includes  the  enrollment  of  members  in  all  branches 
of  the  service  and  also  includes  extension  work  for 
the  Red  Cross,  such  as  cooperation  with  other  societies 
and  the  organization  of  branches  and  auxiliaries. 
The  Department  of  Military  Relief  covers  the  supply 
service.  The  educational  work  includes  first  aid  for 
men  and  women,  home  care  of  the  sick,  etc.  Another 
branch  of  this  department  has  to  do  with  military 
units,  including  base  hospitals,  motor  ambulances, 
training  and  sanitation,  etc.  The  Department  of  Civ- 
ilian Relief  is  organized  to  provide  for  the  dependent 
families  of  enlisted  men  in  all  branches  of  the  mili- 
tary service  of  the  country.  There  is  also  a  Commit- 
tee on  Town  and  Country  Nursing.  In  the  work  of 
all  these  departments  the  women  have,  of  course,  had 
a  very  large  share. 

374 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  National  League  for  Woman's  Service  is 
strongly  organized  in  Pennsylvania.  The  chairman  is 
Mrs.  Edgar  W.  Baird.  Mrs.  James  Starr,  Jr.,  is  vice 
chairman,  Mrs.  William  Gray  Warden,  secretary,  and 
Mrs.  Henry  S.  Jeanes,  treasurer.  Mrs.  Thomas  Rob- 
ins is  state  chairman  for  Industry.  The  activities 
of  the  League  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  Leagues 
throughout  the  country. 

Another  organization  doing  extensive  war  work  is 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Women  ^s  Division  for 
War  Relief,  of  which  Mrs.  George  Dallas  Dixon  is 
chairman,  Mrs.  AVilliam  Wallace,  Atterbury,  vice 
chairman,  Mrs.  Lewis  Neilson,  secretary,  and  Mrs.  0. 
J.  DeRousse,  treasurer.  The  functions  of  the  or- 
ganization are  to  organize  the  women  of  families  of 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  employees,  and  others  for 
preparedness  in  the  event  of  war ;  to  be  ready  to  work 
effectively  for  the  relief  of  suffering;  and  to  be 
ready,  in  so  far  as  possible,  to  facilitate  the  solution 
of  the  labor  problems  of  such  a  crisis  by  being  trained 
to  take  the  places  of  men  employees  who  have  been  and 
may  be  called  to  the  service  of  their  country.  This 
work  is  being  accomplished  through  eight  cooperating 
departments  with  a  director  for  each.  There  are 
approximately  3,000  members.  The  work  follows  the 
lines  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  with  units  in 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland, 
and  in  the  cities  of  Washington  and  New  York. 

The  Philadelphia  section  of  the  Navy  League  of 
the  United  States  has  done  a  great  deal  of  valuable 
work.  The  honorary  chairman  is  Mrs.  Alexander 
Van  Rensselaer.  Mrs.  IMoncure  Robinson  is  chair- 
man, Mrs.  Horatio  Gates  Lloyd,  treasurer. 

375 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  Emergency  Aid  of  Pennsylvania,  one  of  the 
most  effective  of  the  war  societies  in  America,  has 
headquarters  in  Philadelphia  and  branches  in  various 
parts  of  the  state.  It  acts  as  a  clearing  house  in 
Pennsylvania  for  relief  work  at  home  and  abroad,  and 
was  officially  appointed  by  Governor  Martin  G.  Brum- 
baugh as  agency  to  receive  communications  and  sup- 
plies of  all  kinds  for  the  soldiers  of  Pennsylvania. 

Pennsylvania  has  active  representatives  and  work- 
ing committees  connected  with  numerous  relief  or- 
ganizations. Among  these  are  the  Allied  Arts  Com- 
mittee, Mrs.  Edward  K.  Rowland,  chairman;  The 
American  Ambulance  Committee,  Mrs.  George 
Wharton  Pepper,  chairman;  The  Armenian  Commit- 
tee, Mrs.  George  R.  Lorimer,  chairman;  the  Belgian 
.Belief  Committee,  Mrs.  Bayard  Henry,  chairman; 
The  British  Committee,  Mrs.  E.  Burd  Brubb,  chair- 
man; The  British- American  Committee,  Mrs.  Robert 
E.  Strawbridge,  chairman;  The  Food  Economy  Com- 
mittee, Mrs.  Charles  M.  Lea,  chairman;  The  French 
War  Relief  Committee,  Mrs.  Cornelius  Stevenson, 
chairman;  The  Food  for  France  Fund,  Mrs.  Rodman 
E.  Griscom,  chairman;  Home  Relief  Division,  Mrs. 
John  C.  Groome,  chairman;  Italian  Committee,  Mrs. 
Benjamin  Miller,  chairman;  Montenegrin  Committee, 
Mrs.  John  C.  Groome,  chairman;  Motor  Messenger 
Service,  Mrs.  Thomas  L.  Elwyn,  chairman;  Overseas 
Committee,  Mrs.  Edward  K.  Rowland,  chairman; 
Polish  Relief  Committee,  Mrs.  Robert  von  Mo- 
schzisker,  chairman;  Russian  Committee,  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam Ellis  Scull,  chairman;  Serbian  Committee,  Miss 
Nina  Lea,  chairman;  Surgical  Dressings  Committee, 
Mrs.  Rodman  E.  Griscom,  chairman. 

376 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  lias  been  called  the 
model  county  of  America  so  far  as  organization  is 
concerned.  The  leaders  in  Chester  County  modestly 
disclaim  this  title  but  the  story  is  worth  telling,  and 
if  other  counties  in  America  have  claims  to  this  honor 
it  will  probably  inspire  them  to  come  forth  and  an- 
nounce it.  The  story  of  the  organization  of  Chester 
County  is  best  told  by  Miss  Emily  T.  Hoopes,  secre- 
tary: 

It  happened  that  an  organization  known  as  the  Com- 
munity Movement  had  developed  here,  the  plan  of  which 
was  very  similar  to  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense,  so  that  last  May  when  the  State  Di- 
vision organized  we  were  ready  to  proceed  at  once  under 
their  direction. 

The  history  of  this  Community  Movement  is  interesting. 
We  have  here  at  West  Chester  a  County  Fair  annually  in 
the  late  summer  at  which  there  has  always  been  a  Day 
Nursery  for  the  babies  whose  mothers  could  not  come  to 
the  Fair  without  them.  In  1916  owing  to  the  epidemic  of 
Infantile  Paralysis,  this  tent  was  not  needed  for  this  pur- 
pose. Two  or  three  of  the  progressive  women  of  the  Com- 
munity evolved  the  idea  of  using  the  tent  for  an  exhibition 
of  the  work  of  the  women  of  Chester  County.  They  there- 
fore built  booths  and  asked  every  woman's  organization  to 
make  exhibits  of  posters  or  any  visual  demonstration  of 
their  work.  A  large  number  responded.  Side  by  side  the 
Peace  and  Preparedness,  the  Suffragists  and  Anti-Suffra- 
gists showed  their  activities.  The  women  themselves  were 
amazed  to  find  all  that  was  going  on  in  the  County. 

As  a  result  they  decided  to  have  a  series  of  "Get  To- 
gether*'  luncheons  at  which  speakers  from  outside  addressed 
from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  women,  gath- 
ered from  all  over  the  County,  on  subjects  on  which  they 
could  unite. 

377 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Great  enthusiasm  developed,  the  outcome  of  which  was  a 
Child  Welfare  Week  at  the  New  Century  Club  House,  West 
Chester.  In  the  basement  there  were  again  exhibits  by 
thirty  different  organizations  interested  in  welfare  work 
of  different  sorts.  In  the  afternoons  was  held  a  series 
of  meetings  addressed  by  speakers  of  national  standing 
from  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  from  the  Children's 
Bureau  at  Washington,  and  in  fact  from  any  organization 
which  was  doing  the  best  work  for  the  care  of  children. 

Again  a  further  step  was  taken  and  it  was  decided  to 
keep  a  rather  loose  organization  with  a  permanent  secre- 
tary and  a  chairman  chosen  at  each  meeting.  The  resi- 
dents of  County  Organizations  of  women  forming  the  Coun- 
cil to  be  known  as  the  Community  Movement.  So  many 
lines  of  work  opened  up  that  a  Field  Secretary  was  em- 
ployed for  two  months.  We  were  in  this  state  the  first  of 
June,  and  because  we  so  nearly  approximated  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense  we  dissolved 
the  Community  Movement  and  reorganized  under  the 
Woman's  Committee. 

We  are  in  the  process  of  organizing  the  fifty-seven  town- 
ships and  thirteen  boroughs  and  one  city  into  Units  of  this 
Committee.  So  far  we  have  nine  boroughs,  twenty-two 
townships  and  one  city  organized.  We  are  rapidly  com- 
pleting the  organization  and  by  the  time  winter  sets  in  ex- 
pect to  have  even  the  remote  townships  organized. 

The  work  multiplied  so  it  was  found  necessary  to  take 
offices,  to  employ  a  secretary  and  a  stenographer.  Several 
of  the  Departments  already  have  constructive  programs 
in  partial  operation.  The  Food  Conservation  Department 
was  very  active  during  the  summer  and  we  are  now  empha- 
sizing the  work  of  Registration  and  Liberty  Loan.  We  try 
to  keep  flexible  yet  active  and  the  fact  that  the  Public 
Safety  Committee  of  Chester  County  turned  over  to  us  the 
Campaign  of  the  Hoover  Food  Cards,  and  asked  our  co- 
operation when  the  Food  Conservation  Train  came  to  West 

378 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Chester;  that  the  County  Superintend^t  of  Schools  has  ap- 
pealed to  us  to  help  solve  the  serious  problem  of  the  de- 
creased attendance  of  the  rural  schools  owing  to  the  demand 
for  the  boys  and  girls  on  the  farm,  makes  us  feel  that  heavy 
responsibilities  rest  upon  us. 

The  project  is  financed  privately  as  there  is  no  pro- 
vision for  the  Woman's  Committee.  The  effort  is  to  se- 
cure contributions  of  a  moderate  size  from  a  number  of 
people  scattered  throughout  the  County  for  the  first  year. 
After  that  time  some  plan  for  regular  income  will  be  made 
if  we  prove,  as  we  believe,  that  we  are  needed  in  times  of 
Peace  as  well  as  in  times  of  War. 

Oregon.  Presidents  of  all  women's  organizations 
in  the  state  constitute  the  executive  board  of  Oregon 's 
Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense. The  organization  is  on  a  good  working  basis 
and  there  has  been  a  hearty  response  to  every  appeal 
the  committee  has  sent  out. 

Within  a  short  time  after  war  was  declared  The 
Oregon  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  Mrs.  Charles 
H.  Castner,  president,  sent  out  letters  to  the  clubs 
of  the  state  and  received  responses  from  over  140 
clubs.  This  letter  was  in  the  interest  of  food  con- 
servation. This  work  of  the  Oregon  women  presented 
an  interesting  phase  of  war  work.  The  State  Agri- 
cultural College  made  a  complete  census  of  the  labor 
requirements  of  the  farmers  of  the  state,  and  enlisted 
all  school  boys  not  of  military  age,  or  not  possessing 
military  qualifications,  in  a  working  reserve,  known  as 
the  United  States  Boys'  Working  Eeserve.  The  plan 
was  to  place  these  boys  on  farms  as  they  are  re- 
quired, and  as  conditions  warrant.  The  State  Fed- 
eration was  assigned  an  important  part  in  the  work, 

379 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

in  that  it  was  asked  to  clieck  up  on  housing,  living 
and  general  conditions  existing  on  farms  where  these 
boys  are  to  be  placed.  This  is  to  give  to  their  parents 
the  assurance  that  they  will  be  well  cared  for.  The 
work  was  a  very  important  one  and  the  Oregon 
women  did  it  with  pronounced  success.  A  committee 
was  named  in  each  county.  A  number  of  reliable 
and  efficient  women  were  appointed  by  the  president 
of  each  club  at  the  request  of  the  state  president, 
and  these  women  placed  themselves  at  the  disposal  of 
the  county  agriculturist.  The  Federation  pledged  it- 
self, when  war  was  declared,  to  do  any  service  within 
its  power  and  the  pledge  was  conscientiously  kept. 

When  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of 
National  Defense  was  organized  in  Oregon,  Mrs. 
Charles  H.  Castner  was  made  chairman  and  she  im- 
mediately sent  out  a  stirring  appeal  to  the  women  in 
her  state  in  the  interest  of  registration,  Hoover 
pledges,  and  other  lines  of  work  suggested  by  the 
Woman's  Committee  at  Washington.  The  Commit- 
tee received  financial  assistance  from  the  State  Coun- 
cil of  Defense.  The  Women's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  of  Oregon  has  done  especially  effective  war 
work. 

The  officers  are:  chairman,  Mrs.  Charles  H. 
Castner,  Hood  River;  1st  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  Jennie 
M.  Kemp,  Portland;  secretary,  Mrs.  C.  F.  Fisher, 
Portland;  treasurer.  Miss  Julia  Cogswill,  Portland; 
vice  chairmen,  presidents  of  all  women's  organiza- 
tions of  the  state. 

Rhode  Island.  The  women  of  Rhode  Island  dis- 
tinguished themselves  and  rendered  valuable  patriotic 
service  in  the  taking  of  a  military  census  of  the 

380 


STATE  t)RGANIZATIONS 

state.  The  National  League  for  Woman's  Service  was 
organized  early  in  April,  1917,  with  Mrs.  Rush  Sturges 
as  chairman.  On  April  22  this  organization  received 
a  letter  from  Colonel  Webb,  who  had  been  appointed 
by  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  to  direct  a  military 
census  which  the  Legislature  had  by  vote  decided  to 
take.  This  census  was  planned  to  include  all  men 
sixteen  years  old  or  over  and  it  was  thought  such  a 
census  would  be  of  value  in  checking  up  conscription 
figures.  In  his  letter  to  the  League  Colonel  Webb 
asked  the  women  to  assist  in  taking  this  census  and 
stated  that  2,500  census  takers  would  be  needed.  The 
women  were  quite  willing  to  accede  to  his  request 
but  they  asked  that  women  also  be  included  in  the 
military  census.  The  work  proceeded  on  this  basis, 
the  state  authorities  paying  all  expenses,  printing 
blanks,  etc.,  and  the  women  organizing  and  taking 
the  census.  The  state  was  divided  into  districts,  200 
enumerators  being  allowed  to  each  section.  The 
women  in  charge  of  the  census  selected  the  best  or- 
ganized women's  organizations  in  the  state  and  asked 
their  active  cooperation,  which  was  cheerfully  given. 
These  organizations  were  the  Congress  of  IMothers, 
the  Federation  of  Clubs  and  the  Suffrage  League. 
These  organizations  in  turn  selected  from  among 
their  own  leaders  women  whom  they  knew  to  be  effi- 
cient and  capable  and  by  this  means  the  very  best 
women  of  the  state  were  in  charge  of  the  work.  The 
census  was  taken  on  June  11,  1917. 

The  appointment  of  the  Woman's  Committee  in 
Washington  and  its  subsequent  organization  by  states 
came  when  the  women  of  Rhode  Island  were  in  the 
midst  of  preparations  for  the  census.     They    wisely 

381 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

concluded  not  to  interrupt  the  organization  under 
which  this  work  was  being  done  so  effectively  until 
the  completion  of  the  task  in  hand.  Later,  however, 
the  National  League  for  Woman's  Service,  of  which 
Mrs.  Rush  Sturges  was  chairman,  voted  to  coordinate 
its  work  under  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  National  Defense,  Mrs.  Sturges  having  been  made 
chairman  of  the  Rhode  Island  Woman's  Committee. 
The  state  is  well  organized  under  the  Woman's  Com- 
mittee and  a  great  deal  has  been  accomplished  in  food 
conservation  and  other  war  programs  outlined  at 
Washington.  Mrs.  William  M.  Congdon,  of  Provi- 
dence, is  secretary  of  the  organization.  She  was 
formerly  president  of  the  Federated  Clubs  of  the 
state  and  has  brought  experience  and  sound  judgment 
to  the  newer  organization.  The  vice  chairman  is 
Mrs.  Horace  G.  Bissell,  the  2nd  vice  chairman,  Mrs. 
E.  S.  Moulton,  and  the  treasurer,  Mrs.  Clara  E.  Craig. 
As  evidence  of  how  the  men  at  the  head  of  impor- 
tant affairs  connected  with  war  work  depend  on  the 
assistance  of  women,  the  letter  from  Colonel  Webb, 
referred  to  above,  is  interesting.  This  letter  was  re- 
ceived by  Mrs.  Hollister,  Secretary  of  the  National 
League  for  Woman's  Service  for  Rhode  Island,  on 
April  24,  1917,  from  Colonel  George  H.  Webb,  Direc- 
tory of  the  Military  Census  which  had  been  ordered 
by  the  Governor.  In  the  course  of  this  letter  Col. 
Webb  says : 

The  patriotic  cooperation  of  the  women  of  Rhode  Island 
is  asked  at  this  time,  and  we  believe  that  it  will  be  as  freely 
given  as  it  will  be  frankly  sought. 

We  need  2,500  enumerators  in  the  various  cities  and 
towns  of  the  state,  one  for  approximately  each  100  males 

382 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

16  years  of  age  and  over,  to  make  a  house-to-house  canvass 
that  the  work  may  be  promptly  and  eflficiently  done. 

If  the  women  of  Rhode  Island  are  willing  to  undertake 
the  enrollment  of  this  force  of  volunteer  enumerators  the 
Governor  of  the  state  and  the  Director  of  the  Census  would 
appreciate  it  more  than  words  can  express. 

It  would  be  a  real  help,  as  well  as  a  big  demonstration  of 
patriotic  willingness  on  the  part  of  the  women  of  Rhode 
Island  to  ser^-e  their  country  and  their  state  at  a  time  when 
they  are  needed,  if  they  would  undertake  this  important 
task.  We  would  establish  headquarters  for  you  here  at  the 
State  house  and  furnish  you  with  such  clerical  assistance 
as  you  might  need  to  accomplish  the  desired  end. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

SOUTH  CAROLINA  AND  OTHER  STATES 

What  the  South  Carolina  women  have  done — State 
thoroughly  organized — Work  in  South  Dakota  difficult 
— Women  persist  and  work  valiantly  without  funds — 
Tennessee  falls  in  line  with  all  varieties  of  war  work — 
Utah  women  specialize  on  kitchen  gardens — Texas 
women  thoroughly  organized  under  National  League 
for  Woman's  Service — War  work  in  Vermont. 

South  Carolina.  The  women  of  South  Carolina 
have  demonstrated  from  the  beginning  a  fine  and  a 
patriotic  spirit  in  their  defense  work  and  are  led  by 
an  indefatigable  and  enthusiastic  state  president. 
The  Woman's  Committee  of  the  State  Council  of  De- 
fense is  composed  of  the  following : 

Mrs.  F.  Louise  Mayes,  Greenville,  chairman;  Mrs. 
Richard  I.  Manning,  Columbia,  1st  vice  chairman; 
Mrs.  J.  L.  Coker,  Hartsville,  2nd  vice  chairman ;  Mrs. 
E.  C.  von  Tresckow,  Camden,  secretary;  Mrs.  R.  E. 
Stackhouse,  Spartanburg,  treasurer;  Mrs.  W.  C. 
Cathcart,  Columbia,  publicity  committee;  Executive 
Committee:  Mrs.  F.  Louise  Mayes,  Mrs.  Richard  I. 
Manning,  Mrs.  J.  L.  Coker,  Mrs.  E.  C.  von  Tresckow, 
Mrs.  R.  E.  Stackhouse,  Mrs.  W.  C.  Cathcart,  Miss  Jane 
B.  Evans,  Mrs.  Ben  Hagood,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Allen,  Mrs. 
Mary  C.  McCanna,  Mrs.  Joseph  Sprout,  Mrs.  Harriet 
Caldwell,  Mrs.  Robert  Mixon,  Mrs.  J.  D.  Chapman, 

384 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Mrs.  Walker  Duvall,  Mrs.  J.  L.  McWhirter,  Mrs.  Har- 
riet P.  Lynch,  Mrs.  Ernest  Pringle,  Miss  Minnie  M. 
Gee,  Mrs.  Uavy  Slattery,  Mrs.  Andrew  Bramlett, 
Mrs.  M.  0.  J.  Kreps,  Mrs.  Thomas  Sileox,  Mrs.  W.  T. 
C.  Bates,  Miss  Katie  Lee. 

Mrs.  Mayes,  having  been  appointed  temporary 
chairman,  organized  the  state  by  calling  together 
representatives  of  all  state  organizations  of  women  at 
Rock  Hill,  July  12,  1917.  Since  then  meetings  have 
been  held  at  Columbia  and  these  have  been  character- 
ized by  a  spirit  of  enthusiasm  and  patriotism.  The 
avowed  purpose  of  the  Woman  *s  Committee  of  South 
Carolina  is  to  ''restrict  overlapping  of  activities  and 
to  eliminate  waste  of  energy.'*  The  executive  board 
is  composed  of  all  state  presidents  of  women's  or- 
ganizations and  a  chairman  for  each  county  was  ap- 
pointed. The  state  has  ten  divisions  of  work  cor- 
responding to  those  of  the  National  Woman's 
Committee  and  recommended  by  that  body. 

The  first  work  undertaken  by  the  women  of  South 
Carolina  as  an  organized  defense  body  was  the  regis- 
tration of  the  woman  power  of  the  state  and  the  food 
conservation  campaign.  All  town  councils  were 
asked  to  cooperate  with  community  markets  by  allow- 
ing them  to  sell  country  produce  without  license. 
Twenty  thousand  "Hoover  Cards"  were  signed  in 
the  first  drive  and  35,000  women  were  registered. 
Forty-four  counties  have  working  organizations  and 
have  submitted  reports.  The  sale  of  Liberty  Bonds 
has  been  pushed  and  the  women  have  cooperated  with 
the  commercial  bodies  in  the  effort  to  eliminate  waste 
of  all  kinds. 

South  Dakota.  The  women  of  South  Dakota  who 
385 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

took  the  initiative  in  war  work  are  deserving  of  the 
highest  commendation.  For  several  reasons  the  work 
in  South  Dakota  was  difficult,  the  main  reason  being 
that  neither  the  Woman's  Committee  nor  the  State 
Council  had  any  funds  for  the  prosecution  of  war 
work.  However,  the  women  worked  valiantly  to  the 
limit  of  their  power,  and  within  a  short  time  after 
the  Woman's  Committee  was  appointed,  several 
county  organizations  were  completed  and  plans  for 
financing  the  work  were  under  way.  South  Dakota 
women  concentrated  their  attention  on  food  conserva- 
tion and  later  took  up  the  registration  of  women. 
They  were  also  active  in  the  Liberty  Loan  campaign. 
The  work  in  South  Dakota  is  being  done  by  the  Food 
Conservation  Committee  working  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  State  Council  of  Defense.  This  Commit- 
tee consists  of:  Miss  Helen  F.  Peabody,  Mr.  H.  A. 
Oldham,  Miss  Mabel  Ward,  Mr.  A.  W.  Davidson  and 
Mr.  Charles  H.  Lugg. 

Tennessee.  Known  in  history  as  **The  Volunteer 
State,"  Tennessee  has  more  than  lived  up  to  her 
name,  as  far  as  the  women  are  concerned,  in  the 
world  war  of  1917.  As  an  evidence  that  the  gospel 
of  patriotism  has  been  preached  from  ' '  Carter  county 
on  the  east  to  Shelby  county  on  the  west,"  a  letter 
came  to  Washington  from  a  Tennessee  mountain 
woman  who  solemnly  declared  that  she  believed  that 
everything  in  her  state  had  been  *' canned,  dried  or 
eV' 

Before  the  appointment  of  the  Woman's  Commit- 
tee a  great  deal  of  war  work  had  been  begun  under 
existing  organizations — the  Federated  Clubs,  the 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service,  the  Red  Cross, 

386 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

etc.  This  was  continued  and  enlarged  and  the  Wom- 
an's Committee  under  the  able  chairmanship  of  Mrs. 
George  W.  Denny,  of  Knoxville,  president  of  the  Fed- 
erated Clubs  of  the  state  and  an  able  and  gifted 
woman,  has  been  able  to  accomplish  much  in  food 
conservation,  the  sale  of  Liberty  Bonds  and  in  every 
other  form  of  war  work  in  which  they  have  been  asked 
to  engage.  Tennessee  is  particularly  fortunate  also 
in  having  as  its  state  vice  chairman  at  large  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  Mrs.  Leslie  Warner,  of  Nash- 
ville, a  woman  of  broad  culture  and  experience,  of 
recognized  leadership  and  rare  personal  charm. 

Perhaps  Tennessee  has  excelled  most  strikingly  in 
her  work  for  food  conservation.  Every  community 
had  its  canning  centers  where  women  of  the  neighbor- 
hood brought  their  garden  stuff  to  be  conserved. 
One  woman  who  had  a  garden  forty  by  fifty  feet 
established  her  canner  in  the  midst  of  her  flowers  and 
vegetables  and  a  community  canning  was  held  in  that 
delightful  spot  every  Thursday  morning  during  the 
entire  season. 

A  most  effective  method  initiated  by  Knoxville  in 
the  Hoover  pledge  campaign,  and  followed  by  many 
cities  in  Tennessee,  was  the  banding  of  girls  over 
sixteen — a  captain  in  each  ward  with  nine  girls  help- 
ing her,  who  solicited  from  house  to  house  in  a  ward 
canvass.  In  other  communities  the  cards  were  dis- 
tributed through  the  churches — so  many  women  in 
each  church  seeing  that  the  cards  were  signed  at  the 
close  of  the  service. 

Training  classes  along  all  lines  were  established  at 
Chattanooga,  Memphis,  and  other  cities.  The  Com- 
fort Association  of  Knoxville  raised  $2,500  from  a 

387 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

wonderful  sacrifice  sale,  the  money  to  be  devoted  to 
supplying  comforts  for  the  enlisted  men  of  East  Ten- 
nessee. The  Women's  Committee  of  Nashville  pre- 
pared 3,200  comfort  kits  for  the  middle  Tennessee 
soldiers.  The  Nashville  women  have  provided  a  rest 
room  and  library  at  the  camp  for  the  soldiers.  They 
have  a  victrola,  all  sorts  of  writing  material,  news- 
papers and  all  the  current  magazines.  Memphis  has 
perhaps  done  more  in  the  Red  Cross  line,  as  it  is  the 
largest  city  in  Tennessee  and  has  strong  financial 
backing.  *' There  isn't  a  city  or  community  in  the 
state  in  which  the  women  are  not  doing  war  relief 
work, ' '  says  Mrs.  Denny.  ' '  The  women  of  the  Volun- 
teer State  are  realizing  the  importance  of  a  systematic 
organization,  and  are  bending  every  effort  in  this  di- 
rection." 

At  the  Tennessee  State  Fair  Mrs.  Alex.  Caldwell, 
chairman  for  Food  Conservation  for  the  Woman's 
Committee,  and  former  president  of  the  Tennessee 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  displayed  a  ''por- 
trait" of  Mr.  Hoover  wrought  entirely  of  fruits  and 
vegetables.  This  was  cleverly  conceived  and  executed 
and,  though  the  likeness  could  not  be  said  to  be  a 
speaking  one,  the  "portrait"  created  much  amuse- 
ment and  also  called  attention  in  a  very  striking  way 
to  the  food  pledge  campaign  which  was  then  on. 

The  headquarters  have  been  provided  by  the  state 
chairman  in  the  Board  of  Commerce  Building,  Knox- 
ville,  and  stenographic  help  furnished  by  the  State 
Council  of  Defense. 

The  officers  are :  chairman,  Mrs.  George  W.  Denny, 
Knoxville;  vice  chairman  at  large,  Mrs.  Leslie  War- 
ner, Nashville;  vice  chairman,  E.  Tennessee,  Mrs.  D. 

388 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

P.  Montague,  Chattanooga;  vice  chairman,  W.  Ten- 
nessee, Mrs.  Thomas  Polk,  Jackson;  vice  chairman, 
Middle  Tennessee,  Miss  Louise  Lindsay,  Nashville; 
secretary,  Mrs.  John  Welch,  Sparta;  treasurer,  ^liss 
^[argaret  Hamilton  Erwin,  Chattanooga;  secretary  to 
state  chairman,  Mrs.  T.  P.  Miller,  Knoxville.  Chair- 
man of  other  Committees:  Social  Service:  Mrs.  Leo 
Schwartz,  Nashville;  Red  Cross:  Mrs.  James  Mc- 
Cormick,  Memphis;  Public  Health:  Mrs.  Claud  D. 
Sullivan,  Nashville;  Medical  Service:  Dr.  Elese  Rut- 
ledge,  Memphis;  Publicity,  Mrs.  John  M.  Kenney, 
Nashville;  Training  Classes  for  Women:  Miss  Mar- 
garet Wilson,  Knoxville;  Vigilance:  Mrs.  E.  E.  Wil- 
lingham,  Memphis.  Heads  of  Departments:  Food 
Production  and  Home  Economics:  Mrs.  Alex.  Cald- 
well, Nashville;  Women  in  Industry:  Mrs.  Isaac 
Reese,  Memphis;  Child  Welfare:  Mrs.  Eugene 
Crutcher,  Nashville;  Education:  Mrs.  L.  D.  Tyson, 
Knoxville;  Home  and  Foreign  Relief:  Miss  Delia 
Dortch,  Nashville;  Spiritual  Forces:  Mrs.  James  B. 
Ezell,  Newsom. 

Tennessee  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  states  to  per- 
fect a  live,  active  organization  under  the  National 
League  for  National  Service.  The  state  chairman, 
Mrs.  Jesse  Overton,  was  able  to  make  a  splendid 
report  of  the  work  of  the  first  six  months,  and  day  by 
day  the  work  is  broadening  in  all  directions. 

Texas.  The  women  of  the  great  state  of  Texas 
have  gone  about  their  defense  work  with  a  thorough- 
ness and  enthusiasm  that  is  worthy  of  the  spirit  of 
the  Lone  Star  State,  and  conspicuous  success  has  at- 
tended every  campaign  undertaken  by  the  women 
since  war  was  declared.     The  National  League  for 

389 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Woman's  Service  was  well  organized  and  was  already- 
doing  a  large  and  a  very  valuable  work  when  this 
country  became  involved  in  the  world  war.  This 
work  has  continued  and  the  women  of  Texas  have  a 
record  of  achievement  to  their  credit  that  they  may 
well  be  proud  of.  The  slogan,  "For  God,  for  coun- 
try, for  home"  was  repeated  three  times  with  much 
fervor  by  the  women  of  Houston  at  their  initial  meet- 
ing for  defense  work,  and  the  spirit  engendered  at  this 
meeting  meant  much  for  the  future  success  of  the 
plans  about  to  be  formulated.  At  this  as  well  as  at 
all  meetings  of  the  Texas  women  in  the  first  days  of 
the  war,  the  clubs  of  the  state  were  fully  represented. 
Texas  was  one  of  the  first  states  to  put  through 
quickly  and  successfully  a  registration  of  its  women, 
and  the  way  the  women  of  the  cities  of  the  state  con- 
ducted their  campaigns  for  registration  and  for  food 
conservation  is  well  worthy  of  notice. 

The  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National 
Defense  for  Texas  was  organized  soon  after  the  call 
came  from  Washington,  with  the  following  officers: 
president,  Mrs.  Fred  Fleming,  Dallas ;  1st  vice  presi- 
dent, Mrs.  Lee  Gilbert  Joseph,  San  Antonio;  2nd 
vice  president,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Connery,  Fort  Worth; 
secretary,  Mrs.  A.  B.  Griffith,  Dallas;  treasurer.  Miss 
Adena  DeZavalla,  San  Antonio.  Organization  has 
been  extended  to  all  counties,  cities  and  towns.  By 
July  15,  1917,  215  counties  were  organized  out  of  247, 
with  seven  members  of  the  committee  in  each,  accord- 
ing to  a  report  received  at  the  headquarters  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  in  Washington. 

Vtah.  The  spirit  of  conservation  had  already 
reached  Utah  before  war  was  declared.    The  women 

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STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

throughout  the  state  had,  for  two  years,  been  working 
on  the  kitchen  garden  idea.  They  were  organized  in 
canning  centers  and  were  prepared  in  every  way  to 
meet  the  demand  made  upon  the  people  by  Herbert  C. 
Hoover.  Utah's  biggest  ''drive"  was  in  the  interest 
of  food  conservation,  which  was  handled  with  remark- 
able efficiency  by  the  Committee  on  Food  Supply  and 
Conservation,  which  was  affiliated  with  the  Extension 
Division  of  the  Utah  Agricultural  College.  This  Com- 
mittee is  composed  of  Janette  A.  Hyde,  chairman ;  Ger- 
trude McCheyne,  Mrs.  A.  J.  Gorham,  Rena  B.  Maycock. 

Seven  canning  centers  were  immediately  opened, 
as  well  as  a  central  citizen  ^s  municipal  market.  In 
connection  with  this,  a  community  kitchen,  where 
the  principle  of  conserving  and  preserving  the  sur- 
plus food  left  over  from  the  market,  was  conducted. 
The  women  who  came  to  market  had  the  privilege  of 
witnessing  demonstrations  conducted  under  expert 
hands.  The  principle  of  canning  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, as  well  as  the  methods  of  drying  and  salting 
were  taught  each  day.  The  idea  was  carried  still 
further  into  the  community  centers  where  capable 
demonstrators  worked  along  the  same  lines  which 
were  given  at  the  market. 

Janette  A.  Hyde,  Utah's  enterprising  chairman 
says :  ' '  The  work  accomplished  throughout  the  state 
has  been  far-reaching  in  its  scope.  The  people  have 
accepted  very  readily  the  principle  of  conservation 
and  preservation,  feeling  that  they  were  going  back 
to  the  old  pioneer  days  of  raising  and  saving  every- 
thing which  was  possible  for  human  energy  to  con- 
serve. We  were  prepared  and  at  work  before  the 
word  came  for  us  to  begin. 

391 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

"Thousands  of  war  gardens  were  planted  at  the 
beginning  of  the  season.  Women  formed  into  groups, 
having  their  socials  known  as  'seed  day'  where  seeds 
were  exchanged,  'potato  socials'  where  each  one  be- 
longing to  the  group  brought  small  bags  of  potatoes 
which  were  cut  up  and  prepared  for  seed.  Those 
who  were  not  fortunate  enough  to  have  potatoes  to 
give  for  this  purpose,  served  refreshments  to  those 
who  furnished  and  prepared  the  seed.  On  every 
hand,  we  heard  of  busy  house-wives  making  ready 
for  assisting  with  the  home  garden  and  extra  planting 
on  spaces  of  spare  ground.  When  the  time  came  for 
harvesting  the  crops,  women  formed  into  groups  and 
gleaned  as  did  Ruth  of  old.  Many  thousands  of 
pounds  of  wheat  were  gathered  which  otherwise 
would  have  wasted  in  the  field.  Miles  of  curbing 
throughout  the  crowded  districts  were  used  as  an  ex- 
tension to  the  home  garden.  Boys'  and  girls'  groups 
were  formed  throughout  the  state,  supervised  by  the 
Agricultural  College,  who  produced  many  extra  bush- 
els of  green  garden  vegetables.  Not  only  have  the 
women  of  the  state  quadrupled  their  output  of  jellies, 
fruit,  etc.,  for  individual  use,  but  they  have  given  very 
generously  of  their  time  toward  the  canning  and  pre- 
serving of  fruits  and  vegetables  for  charitable  institu- 
tions as  well  as  putting  up  thousands  of  jars  of  jellies 
to  be  turned  over  to  the  Red  Cross  for  the  use  of  our 
boys  in  the  trenches. 

''To  the  Woman's  Committee,  affiliated  with  the 
State  Council  of  Defense,  came  the  tremendous  task 
of  registering  all  of  the  families  throughout  the  state, 
and  75,000  cards  were  printed  and  distributed  by  the 
Committee.     Many  of  our  women  had  to  travel  from 

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STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

10  to  25  miles  to  distribute  the  cards  in  the  districts 
to  which  they  had  been  assigned.  Two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  women  volunteered  their  services.  Forty- 
nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-three  cards 
were  signed  and  returned.  A  tabulation  of  the  same 
was  kept  in  the  state  for  future  use.  Two  hundred 
and  fifty  individuals  sent  cards  and  dimes  to  Wash- 
ington for  the  Hoover  button  and  insignia. 

*'We  feel  that  the  spirit  of  conservation  through 
the  distribution  of  the  Hoover  cards  has  done  much 
to  enthuse  our  women  to  prompt  and  concerted  action. 
We  also  sent  out  1,000  of  the  Hoover  kitchen  cards  to 
prominent  societies  and  organizations. 

"In  eight  counties,  paid  demonstrators  were  at. 
work  giving  instructions  and  helping  the  women  with 
the  latest  methods  of  preparing  fruits  and  vegetables. 
We  had  1,500  volunteer  women  throughout  the  state 
assisting  in  every  way  possible,  and  to  our  well  organ- 
ized and  equipped  Relief  Society  we  feel  that  the 
greatest  amount  of  credit  is  due  for  our  splendid  re- 
port. 

"It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  wonderful  amount 
of  good  that  has  been  done  through  the  Conserv^a- 
tion  Movement. 

"The  amount  of  materials  put  up  under  the  direc- 
tion of  demonstrations  in  counties  in  Salt  Lake  City 
is  as  follows;  9,603  quarts  of  jelly,  jam,  and 
canned  vegetables;  besides  30,000  ears  of  corn  dried. 
The  number  of  women  reached  directly  by  county 
demonstrators  was  30,005.  Number  of  bulletins  and 
college  circulars  distributed,  12,534.  Number  of 
places  in  which  demonstrations  and  short  courses  were 
given,  67.     Number  of  women  in  attendance  at  dem- 

393 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

onstrations,  9,855.  Individual  contact  and  personal 
conversations  over  telephone,  6,288.  Number  of  agri- 
cultural women  conducting  state- wide  work,  six." 

If  each  state  had  kept  as  accurate  a  record  of  its 
war  work  as  Utah  has  done  the  Government  would 
have  a  document  of  inestimable  value  upon  which  to 
base  many  of  the  future  operations  of  its  depart- 
ments in  the  work  of  which  women  are  concerned. 

The  officers  of  the  Utah  Woman's  Committee  are: 
chairman,  Mrs.  W.  N.  Williams,  Salt  Lake;  1st  vice 
chairman,  Mrs.  Edward  Bischel,  Ogden;  2nd  vice 
chairman,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Knight,  Provo ;  3rd  vice  chair- 
man, Mrs.  R.  E.  L.  Collier,  Salt  Lake ;  Secretary,  Miss 
Elsa  Bamberger,  Salt  Lake. 

Vermont.  In  every  line  of  patriotic  work  that  has 
been  suggested  from  Washington  the  women  of  Ver- 
mont have  done  their  full  share.  In  no  field,  how- 
ever, have  they  accomplished  more  than  in  the  con- 
servation of  food.  Vermont  was  one  of  the  first  states 
to  operate  the  rule  ''No  white  bread  on  Wednesdays 
and  Thursdays."  The  Red  Cross  is  organized 
throughout  the  state  and  Vermont  women  have  done 
effective  work  in  the  interest  of  the  war  library.  The 
work  of  the  Woman's  Committee  was  initiated  with  a 
meeting  in  the  executive  chamber  by  invitation  of  the 
Governor  of  Vermont.  The  women  also  met  with  the 
Public  Safety  Committee  and  an  excellent  program, 
with  the  best  speakers  obtainable,  served  to  inspire 
the  people  with  zeal  for  war  work.  Great  success 
attended  the  efforts  in  the  interest  of  the  food-pledge 
campaign,  and  Vermont  made  a  fine  record  in  the 
sale  of  Liberty  bonds.  The  women  of  the  state  have 
seen  to  it  that  all  state  papers  are  supplied  with  live 

394 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

news  on  what  women  are  doing,  and  the  publication 
of  these  items  in  many  papers  has  gone  far  toward 
stirring  the  people  to  their  duty  in  the  Nation's 
crisis. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  Woman's  Committee, 
Professor  Bertha  M.  Terrill,  Director  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Home  Economics  of  the  University  of  Ver- 
mont, was  appointed  home  economics  director  for  the 
United  States  Food  Administration  of  Vermont. 
Officers  for  the  "Woman's  Committee  are:  chairman, 
Mrs.  J.  E.  Weeks,  Middlebury;  recording  secretary, 
Mrs.  Gilbert  Davis,  Windsor;  corresponding  secre- 
tary, Mrs.  Arthur  Isham,  Burlington ;  treasurer,  Mrs. 
Oliver  Ashton,  Rutland. 

Of  the  spirit  of  the  women  of  Vermont  one  of  the 
state  leaders  has  said :  * '  I  can  not  tell  when  or  where 
the  distinctively  war  service  started — it  seemed  to 
spontaneously  spring  into  existence  everywhere  as 
soon  as  we  were  actually  in  the  struggle,  but  it  is  in 
full  swing  all  over  the  state,  under  direction  of  one 
or  another  of  our  women's  organizations.  In  many 
towns  the  R^d  Cross  work  is  headed  by  the  D.  A.  R. 
Chapter,  as  in  Brattleboro,  and  the  rooms  are  open 
for  work  every  day  and  evening.  The  Federated 
Clubs  indorse  and  join  in  every  form  of  relief  work, 
and  the  Vermont  Society  of  Colonial  Dames  has  con- 
tributed $375  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  war  relief  work.  It 
is  not  going  too  far  to  say  that  every  member  of  all 
the  organizations  mentioned  is  cooperating  with  all 
other  agencies  for  special  war  service.  Vermont  is 
alert,  patriotic,  industrious  and  wide-awake  to  her 
opportunities  for  usefulness." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

VIRGINIA,  WISCONSIN,  WASHINGTON,  ETC. 

Personnel  of  Virginia  Committee — National  League  for 
Woman's  Service  and  Woman's  Committee  work  effec- 
tively in  Washington — D.  A.  R.  and  Suffrage  Associa- 
tion in  Wisconsin  cooperate  in  Americanization — Voca- 
tional emergency  education — Wyoming  Woman's  Com- 
mittee encourages  garden  planting — Acreage  increased 
150  per  cent. — Every  county  organized — Many  things 
done  in  West  Virginia — Every  woman's  organization 
cooperating. 

Virginia.  Virginia  vc^omen  have  been  industriously 
at  work  since  the  war  began  in  every  field  in  which 
the  assistance  of  women  has  been  called  for,  and  it 
would  be  difficult  to  say  where  they  have  excelled 
most.  Through  its  many  organizations  the  state  was 
already  doing  effective  relief  work  through  the  Red 
Cross  and  other  recognized  agencies  when  this  country 
entered  the  war.  Upon  the  call  from  Washington  for 
organization  under  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the 
Council  of  National  Defense  it  was  only  necessary  to 
intensify  the  work  already  begun  and  to  coordinate 
the  efforts  then  being  made.  At  this  writing  no  of- 
ficial report  of  the  work  in  Virginia  was  available,  but 
the  enthusiastic  patriotism  of  the  women  of  that  state 
is  too  well  known  to  be  further  emphasized  here. 

The  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
396 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

tional  Defense,  Virginia  Division,  is  affiliated  with  the 
State  Defense  Council.  The  officers  are:  honorary 
chairman,  Mrs.  Claude  Swanson,  Washington;  chair- 
man, Mrs.  B.  B.  Munford,  Richmond;  1st  vice  chair- 
man, Mrs.  W.  W.  Sale,  Richmond ;  2nd  vice  chairman, 
Mrs.  John  Ilagan,  Danville;  3rd  vice  chairman,  Mrs. 
Wm.  Ruffin  Cox,  Richmond;  4th  vice  chairman,  Miss 
Alethea  Serpell,  Norfolk;  5th  vice  chairman,  Mrs. 
Lucian  Cocke,  Roanoke ;  secretary  and  treasurer,  Mrs. 
E.  R.  Williams,  Richmond.  The  departments  and 
their  chairmen  are:  Organization:  Mi^.  E.  C.  Minor, 
Richmond;  Registration:  Mrs.  John  Lewis,  Lynch- 
burg; Food  Conservation  and  Home  Economics:  Miss 

Ella  Agnew,  Blacksburg;  Food  Production:  ; 

Women  in  Industry:  Miss  Lucy  Mason,  Richmond; 
Child  Welfare:  Mrs.  W.  A.  Burrows,  Richmond; 
Maintenance  of  Existing  Social  Agencies:  Mrs.  S.  H. 
Cabaniss,  Richmond;  Education,  (a)  Literature  and 
Speakers:  Mrs.  St.  G.  Bryan,  Richmond;  (b)  Infor- 
mation, or  Organization  of  Training  Classes  for 
Women:  Miss  Virginia  McKenney,  Petersburg,  and 
Mrs.  M.  S.  Moffet,  Radford ;  Liberty  Loans :  Mrs.  Eg- 
bert Leigh,  Jr.,  Richmond ;  Home  and  Foreign  Relief : 
Miss  Gabriella  Page,  Richmond;  Safeguarding  of 
Moral  and  Spiritual  Forces:  Miss  Katherine  Hawes, 

Richmond;  Finance:  ;   Publicity:  Mrs.   Sally 

N.  Robins,  Richmond;  Public  Health:  Miss  Agnes 
Randolph,  Richmond. 

Washington.  In  the  state  of  Washington  the  first 
organization  to  systematically  plan  war  emergency 
work  was  the  National  League  for  Woman's  Service 
and  many  of  the  things  accomplished  by  the  Wash- 
ington women  have  been  directed  by  that  organiza- 

397 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tion.  However,  Mrs.  Winfield  R.  Smith,  chairman  of 
the  National  League  for  Woman's  Service,  was  ap- 
pointed chairman  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the 
Council  of  National  Defense  for  her  state  when  that 
Committee  was  organized  some  time  later,  and  from 
the  beginning  there  has  been  complete  cooperation. 
Much  of  the  work  that  had  been  begun  by  the  Na- 
tional League  for  Woman's  Service  was  carried  on  to 
successful  completion  without  interruption.  The 
Woman's  Committee  has  directed  from  time  to  time 
certain  features  of  the  work  and  has  detailed  certain 
assignments  to  the  various  organizations  affiliating 
with  the  Woman's  Committee. 

Of  the  work  in  her  state  Mrs.  Smith  says:  "The 
League  has  established  classes  in  telegraphy,  sales- 
manship, running  elevators,  general  office  work  and 
classes  in  French;  motor  driving,  cooking  and  can- 
ning, as  well  as  preparing  for  Civil  Service  exami- 
nations. They  have  corps  of  women  learning  to 
use  rifles,  who  will  be  ready  for  home  defense  or 
patrol  work,  if  necessary.  They  have  had  classes 
in  gardening  and  women  have  assisted  largely  in 
this  state  in  gathering  and  packing  fruit  and  vegeta- 
bles. 

**In  Social  and  Welfare  work  they  are  establishing 
home  clubs  for  soldiers  and  sailors,  where  entertain- 
ment is  offered  under  wholesome  and  attractive  sur- 
roundings, and  being  a  city  located  on  the  ocean  we 
have  both  soldiers  and  sailors  to  care  for,  and  we  are 
cooperating  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  in  their  reading 
rooms  and  other  activities. 

''In  Washington  we  have  Camp  Lewis  at  American 
Lake  where  40,000  men  are  stationed,  and  we  are 

398 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

assisting  in  many  ways  to  help  meet  the  problems 
such  a  large  cantonment  presents. 

''The  Hostess  House  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  is  about 
finished  there  and  will  soon  be  thrown  open  for  the 
use  of  the  men  and  their  relatives. 

"The  Woman's  Committee  has  in  particular  the 
work  of  the  registration  of  the  women  of  the  state, 
and,  meanwhile,  we  assisted  in  the  sale  of  Liberty 
Loan  Bonds  with  Mrs.  Overton  G.  Ellis  of  Olympia 
as  state  chairman  of  the  Liberty  Loan  Committee; 
and  with  the  Food  Pledge  to  be  taken  up  in  Novem- 
ber with  Miss  Agnes  Craig,  of  Pullman,  State  Chair- 
man of  the  Food  Administration  in  charge ;  the  Social 
Welfare  work  in  all  our  camps  will  be  under  the  two 
organizations  working  together. 

''In  this  state  the  women  assisted  materially  in  the 
saving  of  the  fruit  crops.  In  one  of  our  smaller  cities 
the  women  have  put  up  10,000  jars  of  fruit  and  vege- 
tables for  hospital  use.  Hundreds  of  quarts  have  been 
sealed  in  tin  cans  ready  for  transportation  to  France. 
The  Motor  Division  went  throughout  the  county 
and  gathered  fruit  and  vegetables,  which  might  other- 
wise have  been  wasted,  for  this  purpose.  That  same 
town  has  made,  approaching  25,000  garments  for  the 
Red  Cross  aside  from  all  their  surgical  dressing  work 
and  work  in  other  departments.  Of  course,  our 
larger  centers  have  done  the  greatest  amount  of  social 
and  welfare  work,  in  caring  for  men  in  the  begin- 
ning of  volunteer  enlistment,  who  even  required  food 
and  clothing,  and  in  helping  civilian  relief  to  provide 
for  dependents,  etc. 

"Our  women  are  well  organized  and  are  doing 
splendid  service   work   continually   and  have  many 

399 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

plans  for  the  future,  particularly  in  regard  to  our 
training  camps;  the  special  cantonment  at  Camp 
Lewis  and  the  navy  work  at  Bremerton.  One  plan 
carried  out  was  to  have  a  Christmas  tree  in  our  hos- 
pital at  Camp  Lewis  for  the  men  ill  at  that  time,  and 
we  undertook  to  provide  a  Christmas  package  for 
every  man  in  every  camp  and  fort  who  would  not  be 
otherwise  remembered  on  that  day. ' ' 

The  officers  of  the  Washington  Woman's  Com- 
mittee are:  honorary  chairmen,  Mrs.  Ernest  Lister, 
Olympia;  Mrs.  Henry  Suzallo,  Seattle;  Mrs.  Eliza 
Feery  Leary,  Seattle;  chairman,  Mrs.  Winfield  R. 
Smith,  Seattle ;  acting  chairmen,  Mrs.  W.  S.  Griswold, 
Seattle;  Mrs.  J.  H.  Mendenhall,  Seattle;  Mrs.  L.  B. 
Steadman,  Seattle;  Mrs.  Helen  N.  Stevens,  Seattle; 
vice  chairmen,  Mrs.  N.  S.  ]\IcCready,  Snohomish; 
Mrs.  J.  C.  Todd,  Takoma;  Mrs.  0.  G.  Ellis,  Olympia, 
Mrs.  W.  P.  Harper,  Seattle;  Mrs.  Mary  G.  Ewing, 
Pullman;  Miss  Sue  Lombard,  North  Yakima;  execu- 
tive secretary,  Mrs.  Milo  J.  Loveless,  Seattle;  cor- 
responding secretary,  Mrs.  R.  A.  Ballinger,  Seattle; 
treasurer,  Mrs.  A.  0.  Downey,  Seattle;  parliamenta- 
rian, Mrs.  George  N.  McLaughlin,  Seattle;  Publicity, 
Mrs.  W.  S.  Griswold. 

Wisco7i^in.  The  women  of  Wisconsin  have  worked 
in  all  branches  of  war  relief  work,  but  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Council  of  Defense 
has  accomplished  much  in  two  important  ways.  In 
distributing  the  various  branches  of  patriotic  service 
the  Woman's  Committee  delegated  the  work  of  the 
Americanization  of  aliens  to  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution  and  the  Wisconsin  Woman's 
Suffrage  Association.     The  outline  of  work  prepared 

400 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

by  the  Americanization  Chairman  of  the  suffrage  as- 
sociation was  heartily  approved  by  Mrs.  John  P. 
Hume,  state  regent  of  the  D.  A.  R.,  and  was  adopted 
without  change  and  with  commendation  by  the  Wom- 
an's Committee  of  the  State  Council  of  Defense.  A 
letter  was  sent  out  to  the  women  of  the  state  to  this 
effect : 

"Your  organization  is  urged  to  give  cordial  support  to 
the  working  out  of  this  plan  in  your  city,  providing  that 
city  includes  un- Americanized  aliens.  All  people  interested, 
or  societies  interested,  are  invited  to  cooperate  in  this  un- 
dertaking. You  cannot  do  more  valuable  patriotic  service 
than  to  help  make  good  American  citizens  of  those  who  are 
among  us  and  not  of  us." 

The  plan  adopted  for  Americanization  classes  is  in- 
teresting. In  the  Milwaukee  Social  Centers  from 
7 :30  to  9  P.  M.,  classes  in  English,  American  history 
and  government  are  held  from  September  to  March, 
three  nights  a  week.  Similar  work  is  done  in  Mad- 
ison and  Oshkosh.  The  work  was  carried  on  vigor- 
ously throughout  the  state  to  hasten  the  process  of 
assimilation.  Instructions  for  organizing  classes  were 
as  follows:  ** Procure  the  names  of  men  who  have 
declared  their  intention  of  becoming  citizens  from  the 
United  States  Naturalization  Bureau  in  your  county 
court  house.  Write  these  men  of  your  classes.  Also 
advertise  classes  as  follows:  1.  Dodgers  in  English 
and  foreign  languages  suitable  to  your  community  to 
be  taken  home  by  school  children ;  2.  Posters  in  Eng- 
lish and  foreign  language  placed  in  public  buildings 
and  in  and  near  factories;  3.  Newspapers — English 
and  foreign.     Teachers  should,  if  possible,  know  the 

401 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

language  of  the  foreign  groups  they  are  teaching. 
Special  text  books  should  be  used;  those  used  in  the 
ordinary  grammar  school  are  not  suitable  for  adults 
of  foreign  birth  and  should  be  avoided. 

^'Classes  can  be  supplemented  by  individuals  visit- 
ing an  alien  family,  interesting  themselves  in  its  prob- 
lems and  teaching  English  and  American  ideals.  Ar- 
range patriotic  meetings  for  foreigners  in  the  public 
schools.  Have  speeches  in  English  and  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  group  attending.  If  possible,  have  mov- 
ing pictures  or  stereopticon  slides  of  scenes  of  the 
home  country  to  attract  your  crowd." 

The  women  of  Wisconsin  accomplished  a  great  deal 
through  the  Consumers  League,  of  which  Mrs.  Kittle 
is  chairman.  Of  the  vocational  emergency  education, 
Mrs.  H.  M.  Youmans  said  : 

''The  aim  of  vocational  emergency  education  is  to 
provide  classes  for  women  and  girls  who  are  without 
training  and  who  are  doing  unaccustomed  work. 
Many  girls  for  instance  are  taking  the  places  of  men 
in  clerical  work  for  which  they  have  no  equipment. 
We  shall  provide  evening  classes  for  these  girls  in 
bookkeeping,  stenography,  and  other  branches.  We 
have  a  system  of  vocational  instruction  in  Wisconsin 
under  which  a  group  of  fifteen  may  demand  that  a 
teacher  in  any  desired  branch  be  provided  at  public 
expense.  It  will  probably  be  better  at  first  to  handle 
our  vocational  emergency  education  through  this 
agency ;  possibly  we  may  appeal  to  the  University  Ex- 
tension Department.  In  any  event  we  plan  to  have 
this  work  done  through  regular  educational  channels. 
It  will  probably  begin  with  such  classes  as  were  in- 
dicated and  we  hope  to  make  it  cover  any  other  classes 

402 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

for  which  a  considerable  number  of  girls  seem  to  have 
need." 

The  Red  Cross  Committee  of  the  State  Council  of 
Defense  has  been  one  of  the  most  active  organizations 
in  the  state.  IMrs.  II.  H.  Morgan,  Madison,  is  chair- 
man, and  associated  with  her  are.  Dr.  J.  S.  Evans, 
Madison,  and  Adjutant  General  Holway,  Madison. 
Advisory  members  are  Mrs.  Joseph  W.  Ilobbins,  Mad- 
ison, and  Mr.  S.  M.  McFedries,  Milwaukee,  State 
Director  of  Red  Cross  Chapters.  As  a  result  of  the 
activities  of  this  Committee  twenty-one  county  chap- 
ters of  the  Red  Cross  Society  had  been  organized  by 
September  1,  1917,  and  branches  and  auxiliary  had 
been  established  in  more  than  200  towns.  The  Com- 
mittee secured  the  cooperation  of  the  Red  Cross  Chap- 
ters throughout  the  state  with  the  Adjutant  General 
in  the  administration  of  the  State  Fund  for  the  Re- 
lief of  Families  of  Soldiers  and  Sailors.  More  than 
100  people  took  the  course  in  civilian  relief  work 
given  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  which  was  ar- 
ranged by  the  Committee  and  paid  for  by  the  State 
Council  of  Defense.  Red  Cross  sewing  and  knitting 
is  being  done  by  inmates  of  state  and  county  insti- 
tutions through  the  consent  of  the  State  Board  of 
Control,  and  materials  are  furnished  by  the  Red 
Cross  Committee.  The  work  is  also  being  introduced 
in  the  home  economics  departments  of  public  schools. 

A  great  deal  of  valuable  work  was  done  by  the 
sub-committees  of  the  Woman's  Committee.  Home 
and  foreign  relief  has  been  looked  after  by  Mrs.  E, 
L.  Maloney.  The  Women  in  Industry  Committee,  of 
which  Mrs.  William  Kittle  is  chairman,  cooperates 
with    the    Wisconsin    Industrial    Commission.     This 

403 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Committee  assisted  in  securing  women  workers  in 
eight  pea  canneries.  The  chairman  of  Registration  is 
Mrs.  John  W.  Mariner,  and  the  conservation  work  is 
directed  by  Miss  Abby  L.  Marlatt.  Out  of  seventy- 
one  counties  in  the  state  forty-seven  reported  canning 
clubs  in  canning  centers  by  the  fall  of  1917.  This 
committee  was  instrumental  in  having  the  State  Coun- 
cil of  Defense  pay  for  the  publication  of  50,000  bulle- 
tins on  drying,  which  were  widely  distributed.  In- 
tensive training  for  canning  demonstrators  was  given 
for  one  week  during  the  summer  session  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Wisconsin  and  392  women  took  the  courses. 
Chairmen  of  other  committees  are  as  follows :  Health 
and  Recreation:  Mrs.  W.  A.  Lawson;  Education  and 
Americanization:  Mrs.  H.  M.  Youmans  and  Mrs. 
John  P.  Hume;  Home  Work  for  Town  and  Country, 
Mrs.  C.  E.  Estabrook;  Red  Cross:  Mrs.  Joseph  W. 
Hobbins ;  Liberty  Loan :  Mrs.  John  W.  Mariner. 

In  sixty-five  counties  a  woman  member  has  been 
appointed  on  the  County  Council  of  Defense.  She  is 
chairman  of  the  County  Woman  *s  Committee,  which 
is  formed  in  the  same  way  as  the  State  Woman's 
Committee — of  representatives  from  all  the  women's 
organizations.  Each  town  has  a  local  committee  un- 
der the  supervision  of  the  county  committee. 

The  chairman  of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  Wis- 
consin, Mrs.  H.  H.  Morgan,  Madison,  was  appointed 
by  Governor  E.  L.  Philipp,  member  of  the  State  Coun- 
cil of  Defense.  The  Committee  consists  of:  Mrs.  H. 
H.  Morgan,  chairman;  Mrs.  E.  L.  Maloney,  Woman's 
Relief  Corps ;  Mrs.  John  P.  Hume,  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution;  Mrs.  Wm.  Kittle,  Wisconsin 
Consumers  League;  Mrs.  H.  M.  Youmans,  Wisconsin 

404 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

"Woman's  Suffrage  Association;  Mrs.  John  W.  Mari- 
ner, National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Miss 
Abby  L.  Marlatt,  Home  Economics  Department,  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin;  Mrs.  L.  D.  Harvey,  Wisconsin 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  Mrs.  W.  A.  Lawson, 
Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union;  Mrs.  Joseph 
A.  Schumacher,  State  Conference  of  Catholic  Wom- 
en's Clubs;  Mrs.  George  H.  Noyes,  Association  of 
Collegiate  Alumnge;  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Grimshaw,  Order 
of  Eastern  Star;  Mrs.  C.  E.  Estabrook,  Wisconsin 
Association  Opposed  to  Woman  Suffrage;  Mrs.  Car- 
roll M.  Towne,  United  States  Daughters  of  1812 ;  :\Irs. 
Imogen  Hatch,  Ladies  of  the  G.  A.  R. ;  Mrs.  J.  A.  Ayl- 
ward,  at  large;  Mrs.  Joseph  W.  Hobbins,  at  large; 
Mrs.  Blanche  Burrowbridge,  Pythian  Sisters. 

West  Virginia.  Mrs.  J.  G.  Cochran  of  Parkers- 
burg,  who  is  chairman  for  the  West  Virginia  Division 
of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Na- 
tional Defense,  is  president  of  the  State  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs,  president  of  a  music  club,  instructor 
of  parliamentary  law,  director  of  a  big  choir  and,  at 
the  time  the  Woman's  Committee  was  being  organized, 
she  was  supervising  the  building  and  furnishing  of  a 
new  clubhouse.  Speaking  of  the  splendid  work  of 
the  West  Virginia  women,  Mrs.  Cochran  said : 

''Nearly  every  woman's  organization  in  the  state 
has  come  in  and  all  are  working  with  our  State  Di- 
vision. Community  kitchens  have  been  opened  in 
the  larger  cities  of  our  state,  and  in  the  smaller  towns 
the  school  houses  have  been  used  to  give  demonstra- 
tions in  canning  and  preserving  fruits  and  vegetables. 

''West  Virginia  pledged  50,000  cans  of  tomatoes  to 
the  government.     Earlier  in  the  year  nearly  every 

405 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

family  responded  to  the  request  to  have  kitchen  gar- 
dens. All  vacant  lots  were  planted  in  vegetables.  We 
oversubscribed  our  Liberty  Bonds,  Red  Cross  and  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  pledges.  Now  we  are  collecting  books  for 
the  soldiers.  We  had  two  food  campaigns.  Classes 
in  auto  repairing  were  started  and  girls  are  in  training 
for  ambulance  driving.  Everybody  is  doing  Red 
Cross  Work.  In  August,  1917,  our  State  Council  of 
Defense  put  on  a  war  pageant  in  five  of  the  largest 
cities  of  our  state.  But  the  work  was  largely  done  by 
the  women.  This  pageant  was  to  arouse  the  spirit  of 
patriotism  and  it  did  the  work. ' ' 

The  officers  are:  chairman,  Mrs.  Joseph  G.  Coch- 
ran, Parkersburg;  1st  vice  chairman,  Dr.  Harriet 
Jones,  Wheeling;  2nd  vice  chairman,  Mrs.  R.  L. 
Hutchinson,  Huntington;  treasurer,  Mrs.  John  L. 
Ruhl,  Clarksburg;  department  chairmen:  Registra- 
tion :  Miss  Lucy  Prichard,  Huntington ;  Food  Produc- 
tion: Miss  Hepworth,  Morgantown;  Child  Welfare: 
Miss  Nola  McKinney,  Fairmont;  Maintenance  of  Ex- 
isting Social  Agencies:  Mrs.  J.  F.  Waddell,  Hunting- 
ton; Red  Cross  and  Allied  Relief:  Mrs.  Harry  Whit- 
aker.  Wheeling;  Education:  Mrs.  J.  S.  Cunningham, 
Charleston ;  Home  and  Foreign  Relief :  Mrs.  Ellis  Yost, 
Morgantown,  or  Driscoll  Hotel,  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Health  and  Recreation :  Mrs.  Walter  Snow,  Clarksburg. 

Wyoming.  The  State  Council  for  Defense  for 
Wyoming  was  organized  soon  after  the  National  Ad- 
visory Committee.  It  was  in  time  to  encourage  the 
planting  of  gardens,  with  the  result  that  the  acreage 
was  increased  at  least  150  per  cent.  Later,  with 
the  cooperation  of  the  extension  department  of  the 
State    University,    demonstrations    in    canning  and 

406 


STATE  ORGANIZATIONS 

drying,  and  preserving  and  storing  of  vegetables  and 
fruits,  were  held  in  practically  every  community 
in  the  state.  It  is  much  easier  to  reach  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  women  in  a  sparsely  settled  state  such 
as  Wyoming  than  it  is  in  a  state  where  there  are 
cities  with  congested  centers.  The  demonstrations 
were  held  first  in  the  counties  of  lower  altitude,  and 
were  then  concluded  in  counties  such  as  Laramie, 
where  the  altitude  is  6,000  feet  and  more. 

The  registration  of  women  took  place  on  the  17th 
of  July,  1917.  The  state  had  been  organized  previ- 
ously with  a  chairman  in  each  county  and  in  each 
voting  precinct.  A  total  of  29,000  cards  was  sent 
out;  about  12,000  were  returned.  There  were  two 
registration  cards  prepared,  one  Mr.  Hoover's  pledge 
card  and  the  other  the  war  service  registration  blank. 

Wyoming  women  rendered  valiant  service  with  the 
Liberty  Loan  and  the  Red  Cross  Drive,  although  the 
state  was  not  fully  organized  at  that  time.  Mrs. 
Taliaferro,  Rock  Springs,  was  appointed  chairman 
for  Liberty  Loan. 

While  these  are  the  things  that  have  been  done  in  a 
state-wide  way,  many  other  things  have  been  done  by 
the  local  or  county  committees.  The  women  of  the 
state  generally  are  very  much  interested,  and  are  ac- 
tive in  Red  Cross  Work. 

The  officers  are:  Mrs.  T.  S.  Taliaferro  of  Rock 
Springs,  chairman  of  the  Liberty  Loan  Committee; 
Miss  Emeline  Whitsomb,  Laramie,  Wyoming  Chair- 
man of  Food  Conservation  and  Home  Economics,  and 
Mrs.  R.  A.  Morton,  Cheyenne,  Chairman  of  Women 
in  Industry.  These  appointments  were  all  made  in 
Washington. 

407 


PART  III 
WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
THE  FEDERAL  COUNCIL 

The  Federal  Council  and  some  of  its  cooperating  com- 
mittees— National  Allied  Relief — Great  bazaars  of  New 
York,  Boston  and  Chicago— "Alley  Festa"  of  1917— 
Fund  for  Fatherless  Children  and  Munition  Work- 
ers— International  Reconstruction  League — American 
"Women's  Hospitals — National  Surgical  Dressings  Com- 
mittee— American  Women's  War  Relief — Stage  Wom- 
en's War  ReUef — American  Ambulance,  MilUnery 
Branch — Statement  about  "Godmothering." 

No  CHAPTER  in  the  annals  of  America's  part  in  the 
World  War,  and  certainly  none  in  the  beautiful 
story  of  her  charities,  is  more  thrilling  and  impres- 
sive than  that  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  unfor- 
tunate victims  of  the  war.  It  is  indeed  doubtful 
whether,  in  the  entire  history  of  the  United  States,  so 
many  persons  of  prominence  have  ever  before  been 
banded  together  with  a  common  charitable  object  in 
view  as  are  represented  in  organizations  comprising 
the  Federal  Council  of  Allied  War  Charities.  The 
magnitude  of  activities  carried  on  by  this  organiza- 
tion is  shown  by  the  impressive  fact  that  more  than 
seventy-five  distinct  and  separate  agencies  are  har- 
moniously cooperating  with  the  sole  object  of  increas- 
ing efficiency  and  economy  of  operations  and  extend- 
ing the  wisest  and  largest  possible  measure  of  relief 

411 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

to  the  war  sufferers.  The  federation  of  these  organi- 
zations into  a  central  body  constitutes  strength  which 
could  not  otherwise  have  been  realized.  The  funds 
raised  for  war  relief  through  these  agencies  in  three 
years  amounted  to  $20,000,000,  while  the  value  of 
supplies  shipped  was  $10,000,000,  making  a  total  of 
$30,000,000.  The  membership  of  these  societies  is 
more  than  2,000,000,  while  branches  or  sub-commit- 
tees of  the  organization  number  5,000.  Significant 
also  is  the  fact  that  in  the  great  allied  bazaars  of  1917 
eighty-eight  organizations  cooperated. 

The  National  Allied  Relief  Committee,  New  York, 
organized  in  July,  1915,  immediately  took  rank  in  the 
forefront  of  war  relief  organizations  of  America,  both 
in  the  matter  of  influence  and  effectiveness. 

It  has  for  its  object  the  making  known  to  the  peo- 
ple of  America  the  needs  of  the  sufferers  in  the  allied 
countries  and  to  raise  money  for  their  relief,  as  well 
as  to  coordinate  the  activities  of  various  committees 
appealing  for  funds  and  to  cooperate  with  them. 
The  success  of  the  committee  is  eloquently  evidenced 
by  the  steadily  increasing  number  of  important  or- 
ganizations which  have  affiliated  themselves  with  it 
for  cooperation.  There  are  more  than  forty  affiliated 
organizations.  The  total  receipts  of  the  National 
Allied  Relief  Committee  to  July,  1917,  were  more 
than  $1,063,000.  It  is  estimated  that  the  committees 
operating  with  it  have  raised  more  than  $10,000,000 
in  cash  for  the  prosecution  of  war  relief  in  the  coun- 
tries of  the  Entente  Allies,  and  this  is  exclusive  of 
very  large  contributions  of  goods  and  money  for- 
warded through  their  efforts  by  the  War  Relief  Clear- 
ing House. 

412 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  committee  was  organized  by  John  Moffatt, 
Frederick  H.  Allen,  T.  C.  Glenchoes,  Norman  Hap- 
good  and  Karl  Davis  Robinson.  Its  honorary  presi- 
dent is  Charles  W.  Eliot,  President  Emeritus  of 
Harvard  University,  and  Mr.  Norman  Hapgood  is 
president.  Women  have  had  an  important  part  in 
the  work  of  this  committee  and  the  vice  presidents  in- 
clude Mrs.  William  Alexander,  Mrs.  J.  Borden  Har- 
riman,  Mrs.  Schuyler  Van  Rensselaer,  Mrs.  Fiske 
Warren  and  Mrs.  Barret  Wendell.  The  National 
Committee  includes  the  names  of  Mrs.  William  H. 
Crocker,  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Ditson,  Mrs.  William  Cor- 
coran, Eustis,  Mrs.  H.  H.  Jenkins,  Mrs.  James  H. 
Kidder,  Mrs.  Whitelaw  Reid,  Mrs.  Manson  Smith, 
Mrs.  Barclay  H.  Warburton,  Mrs.  Fiske  Warren,  Mrs. 
Barrett  Wendell  and  Mrs.  Schuyler  Van  Rensselaer. 

Women  have  had  a  large  and  a  very  important  part 
in  the  success  of  practically  all  of  the  societies  in- 
cluded in  the  Allied  War  Relief  Organization. 
Many  of  them  were  organized  and  are  operated  by 
women,  and  there  are  none  in  which  women  are  not 
working  as  auxiliary  or  active  members.  Many  or- 
ganizations of  women  devoting  themselves  to  various 
lines  of  work,  immediately  upon  the  declaration  of 
war  in  Europe,  turned  the  full  strength  and  power 
of  their  organization  to  war  work,  while  numerous 
new  associations  were  formed  within  a  short  time 
after  war  was  declared. 

Notable  among  the  special  relief  work  in  which 
women  have  shared  may  be  mentioned  the  Allied 
Bazaars  of  New  York,  Boston  and  Chicago.  Before 
November,  1917,  the  total  net  profit  for  war  relief 
from  these  sources  was  $1,479,459.33.     This  was  di- 

413 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

vided  as  follows:  New  York,  $484,826.27;  Boston, 
$459,339,29;  Chicago,  $535,293.77.  While  this  is  not 
strictly  a  woman's  organization,  the  women  worked 
untiringly  for  the  success  of  these  bazaars  and  to  them 
much  of  the  credit  of  this  success  is  undoubtedly  due. 

In  November,  1917,  nearly  one  hundred  war  relief 
organizations  cooperated  in  the  greatest  charity  bazaar 
ever  held  in  America.  This  was  called  "Hero  Land" 
and  while  figures  are  not  available  at  this  writing  it 
is  doubtful  if  any  similar  event  in  the  world  has  ever 
been  more  brilliant  or  has  brought  more  financial  re- 
sults than  this  wonderful  bazaar  for  war  relief  held 
in  Grand  Central  Palace  in  New  York  City. 

The  ''Alley  Festa''  held  in  1917  in  New  York  in 
the  famous  MacDougall  Alley  was  one  of  the  most 
unique  and  successful  war  relief  entertainments  that 
has  been  held  in  America.  Mrs.  Harry  Payne  Whit- 
ney was  honorary  treasurer  and  Mrs.  William  A. 
Delano,  Mrs.  Walter  E.  Maynard  and  Mrs.  Ralph 
Sanger  were  members  of  the  management  committee. 
The  entertainment  committee  consisted  of  Mrs. 
Charles  B.  Dillingham  and  Mrs.  W.  K.  Vanderbilt, 
Jr.  The  Festa  netted  the  magnificent  sum  of  $62,- 
263.73  for  the  American  Red  Cross  and  the  Allied 
War  Charities.  So  well  was  the  affair  managed  that 
the  expenses  were  only  ten  cents  on  the  dollar. 

The  American  Committee  of  Allied  Home  Fund  for 
Fatherless  Children  and  Woman  Munition  Workers, 
has  headquarters  at  360  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 
City;  the  committee  supports  the  Lady  St.  Helier 
House  for  Women  Munition  Workers,  and  the  or- 
phanage established  by  the  French  Heroes  Fund  at 
the  Chateau  de  Chavaniac  Lafayette  in  France,  and 

414 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

has  a  home  for  women  munition  workers  in  London. 
It  also  cooperates  with  the  Committee  of  ^lercy,  the 
French  Heroes  Fund,  and  the  International  Recon- 
struction League  and  the  League  of  the  Allies.  Mr. 
Norman  Hapgood  is  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, which  is  composed  of  Mr.  Frederick  H.  Allen, 
treasurer,  Queen  of  Belgium  Fund ;  Mrs.  William 
Astor  Chanler,  president,  National  Allied  Relief  Com- 
mittee; Mr.  Er  Lawshe,  executive  secretary,  French 
Tuberculosis  War  Victims  Fund ;  Miss  Elsa  Maxwell, 
honorary  secretary,  Le  Bien-Etre  du  Blesse;  Mrs. 
Walter  E.  Maynard,  of  French  Tuberculosis  War 
Victims  fund;  ]\Ir.  John  Moffat,  president  Russian 
War  Relief  Committee;  Mr.  Karl  Davis  Robinson, 
executive  secretary.  Committee  of  Mercy;  Mr. 
Thomas  Randolph  Turner,  executive  secretary.  Inter- 
national Reconstruction  League;  Mrs.  H.  J.  Whig- 
ham,  of  the  French  Heroes  Fund,  and  Mr.  Louis 
Wiley,  of  the  League  of  the  Eleven  Allies.  The  Com- 
mittee has  for  its  object  the  relief  of  women  suf- 
ferers and  of  war  orphans. 

The  American  Committee  of  the  International  Re- 
construction League,  360  Madison  Ave.,  New  York, 
has  three  great  purposes:  immediate  relief  work 
for  the  suffering  war  victims  of  Europe  while  the 
war  lasts;  American  aid  for  Europe's  stricken  peo- 
ple when  the  war  shall  end,  and  the  gigantic  task 
when  rehabilitation  begins;  the  education  of  public 
opinion  throughout  the  world  as  to  the  practicality 
of  a  world-wide  arrangement  to  insure  a  lasting 
peace,  with  America  pledged  to  the  support  of  such 
an  arrangement.  The  League  plans  to  remain  per- 
manently in  existence,  and  to  undertake  relief  work 

415 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

instantly  in  any  part  of  the  world  where  war  or  dis- 
aster shall  make  assistance  necessary.  The  League 
was  founded  in  February,  1916,  and  its  receipts  up  to 
July,  1917,  amounted  to  nearly  $185,000. 

The  American  Women 's  Hospitals,  organized  by  the 
War  Service  Committee  of  the  Medical  Woman's  Na- 
tional Association,  is  an  organization  of  the  women 
physicians  and  surgeons  of  the  United  States  to  ren- 
der international  service  during  the  war.  The  plans 
of  the  organization  have  been  approved  by  the  Sur- 
geon General  of  the  Army  and  by  the  Director  Gen- 
eral of  the  Department  of  Military  Relief  of  the 
American  Red  Cross.  The  work  has  the  following 
divisions:  Hospitals  for  Civilian  Relief,  with  associ- 
ated dispensaries,  these  to  go  especially  to  the  de- 
vastated portions  pf  Serbia,  France,  Russia  and  Rou- 
mania;  Service  in  Army  Units  in  Europe;  Army 
Hospitals  for  Acute  Convalescent  Cases  in  Home 
Zone;  Substitution  Service  in  American  Hospitals 
and  in  Private  Practice  for  the  doctors  who  go  to 
Europe;  and  a  Dental  Department.  Rosalie  Slaugh- 
ter Morton,  M.D.,  is  Chairman  of  the  War  Service 
Committee,  and  Sue  Radcliff,  M.D.,  is  Treasurer. 
Headquarters,  637  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City. 

America  has  no  greater  war  relief  organization,  nor 
one  that  has  rendered  a  higher  service,  than  the  Na- 
tional Surgical  Dressings  Committee  with  headquar- 
ters at  299  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City.  This 
Committee,  organized  in  1914  for  voluntary  war  re- 
lief, shipped  for  distribution  among  the  hospitals  of 
war-stricken  Europe  within  the  first  two  years  of  its 
existence  more  than  18,000,000  surgical  dressings.  It 
aims  to  be  the  medium  through  which  generous  and 

416 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

sympathetic  Americans  who  are  desirous  of  giving 
their  time  and  money  for  alleviating  the  sufferings  of 
the  wounded,  can  make  and  send  surgical  dressings  to 
the  hospitals  in  the  war  zone,  many  of  which  have 
not  the  barest  necessities  for  caring  for  the  sick.  The 
Committee  has  successfully  strived  to  maintain  two 
principles — first,  the  real  spirit  of  service,  and  sec- 
ond, economy  in  administration.  No  executive  sal- 
aries are  paid,  and  all  rent,  equipment,  packing  and 
shipping  facilities,  etc.,  have  been  donated.  The  na- 
tional work  is  organized  under  state  chairmen  whose 
duty  it  is  to  start  sub-committees  in  small  cities  and 
towns  throughout  their  respective  states.  Each  sub- 
committee ships  to  headquarters  for  reforwarding  to 
Europe.  The  distribution  of  supplies  in  Europe  is 
equally  well  organized.  Bureaus  run  by  voluntary 
committees  are  established  in  Paris  and  Bordeaux 
for  France  and  Belgium,  in  London  for  England,  the 
English  Front  in  Flanders  and  France,  Servia,  Salon- 
ika, etc.,  and  in  Rome  for  Italy.  Each  hospital  is 
served  on  requisition  from  the  nearest  Bureau  with- 
out delay  or  duplication.  Over  1,800  hospitals  are 
served  on  the  Continent.  The  Committee  is  officially 
recognized  in  all  countries  where  it  operates.  It  ap- 
peals to  its  workers  for  finished  dressings,  and,  on  re- 
quest, supplies  full  directions  for  making,  packing, 
shipping,  etc.  It  also  receives  gifts  of  money  with 
which  to  purchase  materials.  It  cooperates  with  the 
American  Red  Cross,  the  National  League  for 
Women's  Service,  and  the  Women's  Department,  Na- 
tional Civic  Federation.  Mrs.  Mary  Hatch  Willard 
is  chairman,  and  Miss  Carita  Spencer  is  vice  chair- 
man. 

417 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

American  Women's  War  Relief  Fund,  360  Madi- 
son Ave.,  New  York  City,  is  composed  of  American 
women  married  to  Englishmen  and  resident  in  Eng- 
land, who  organized  themselves  immediately  upon 
the  outbreak  of  the  war,  to  express  their  sym- 
pathy with  Great  Britain  and  to  aid  their  adopted 
country.  Their  first  work  was  to  supply  six  motor 
ambulances  for  use  on  the  Front,  and  the  seventh  am- 
bulance, subscribed  by  friends  in  Boston,  in  the 
United  States,  was  presented  to  the  War  Office.  The 
offer  of  the  fund  to  equip  and  maintain  a  surgical 
hospital  of  200  beds,  in  South  Devon,  was  accepted 
by  the  War  Office  in  August,  1915,  and  this  hospital, 
which  has  treated  several  thousand  cases,  both  med- 
ical and  surgical,  with  an  unusually  small  death  rate, 
has  been  maintained  ever  since.  The  total  subscrip- 
tions have  amounted  to  more  than  $600,000. 

The  Stage  Women's  War  Relief  has  for  its  slogan 
** Serve  or  Pay,"  and  its  nearly  one  thousand  mem- 
bers literally  live  up  to  it.  These  women  have  given 
a  tremendous  personal  service  in  addition  to  money. 
The  organization  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  be- 
fore it  was  a  year  old  its  achievements  were  remark- 
able. One  of  the  most  strikingly  successful  of  its 
undertakings  was  that  of  furnishing  entertainment 
in  the  training  camps.  The  first  of  these  was  given 
at  Fort  Myer  in  the  summer  of  1917,  and  proved  so 
successful  that  by  fall  of  that  year  the  New  York 
managers  had  acceded  to  the  request  of  the  organiza- 
tion that  a  system  be  worked  out  by  which  all  the 
camps  in  the  country  could  be  reached.  At  the 
Twelfth  Night  Club,  New  York  City,  many  jars  of 
jam  and  preserves  were  collected  and  sent  abroad,  and 

418 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

the  Fulton  Theatre,  New  York  City,  was  made  the 
headquarters  to  which  quantities  of  old  clothes  and 
shoes  were  sent  for  the  destitute  people  of  Europe. 
Mrs.  Howard  Schnebbe  was  in  charge  of  this  work. 
Communications  addressed,  Fulton  Theatre,  206  West 
46th  St.,  New  York  City,  will  receive  attention. 

The  organization  began  to  do  its  bit  in  food  pro- 
duction and  conservation  by  taking  three  acres  on 
Long  Island  and  putting  it  into  potatoes,  corn  and 
garden  truck,  with  the  idea  of  extending  this  enter- 
prise the  following  year  if  the  experiment  proved  suc- 
cessful. Christian  Blessing  volunteered  to  oversee 
this  work.  Miss  Dorothy  Donnelly  conceived  the  idea 
that  the  Stage  Women's  War  Relief  should  have  a 
workroom  all  its  own,  where  only  women  connected 
with  the  Theater  should  work,  and  this  workroom 
has  been,  from  the  beginning,  one  of  the  busiest  places 
in  New  York.  Mrs.  Sally  Williams  Riegel  became 
executive  manager  and  Miss  Minnie  Dupree  head  of 
the  surgical  dressings  department.  Then  Grace 
George  dreamed  a  dream  and  set  about  to  make  it 
come  true.  The  Stage  Woman's  War  Relief  should 
have  a  base  hospital  of  its  own!  The  Professional 
W^oman's  League  and  the  Three  Arts  Club  immedi- 
ately cooperated  by  opening  branches  for  making  hos- 
pital garments,  and  then  the  children  of  the  stage 
organized  to  knit  and  sew  for  the  children  of  Bel- 
gium. The  officers  are  Rachel  Crothers,  president; 
Elizabeth  Tyree  Metcalf,  honorary  vice  president; 
Louise  Closser  Hale,  first  vice  president;  Dorothy 
Donnelly,  second  vice  president;  Mary  H.  Kirkpat- 
rick,  secretary;  Louise  Drew,  treasurer;  Mrs.  J.  Stu- 
art Blackton,  chairman  of  Moving  Picture  Commit- 

419 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tee.  The  Board  of  Directors  consists  of  Jessie  Bon- 
stelle,  May  Buckley,  Minnie  Dupree,  Eleanor  Gates, 
Mrs.  Henry  B.  Harris,  Alice  Kauser,  Frances  Starr, 
Laurette  Taylor,  and  Sally  Williams  Riegel,  execu- 
tive manager  of  Workroom.  Headquarters,  366  Fifth 
Ave.,  New  York  City. 

An  organization  that  has  had  almost  spectacular 
success  is  the  American  Ambulance  Millinery  Branch, 
which  has  its  general  headquarters  at  15  West  44th 
Street,  New  York  City.  The  organization  was  started 
in  May,  1917,  on  the  initiative  of  Mr.  B.  J.  Garfunkel, 
of  New  York  City.  The  first  meeting  was  held  at  the 
Yale  Club  and  the  purpose  as  stated  at  that  meeting 
was  to  create  funds  to  develop  a  Millinery  Unit  in 
connection  with  the  American  Ambulance  Field  Serv- 
ice in  France.  In  six  weeks  it  collected  over  $45,000. 
The  organization  has  twenty-two  general  motor  trucks 
in  operation  in  France  and  maintains  a  ward  in  the 
American  Hospital  at  Neuilly.  The  officers  are:  ex- 
ecutive chairman,  Samuel  Zucker,  New  York  City; 
treasurer,  Alfred  L.  Simon,  New  York  City;  execu- 
tive secretary,  B.  J.  Garfunkel,  New  York  City. 

A  number  of  organizations,  prompted  by  a  beauti- 
ful spirit,  early  in  the  war  undertook  what  is  known 
as  '  *  godmothering. "  WTiile  in  many  cases  this  work 
proved  to  be  a  boon  to  lonely  soldiers,  it  was  found 
to  be  impracticable  when  internationally  viewed  from 
a  military  standpoint.  While  it  seemed  a  pity  to 
interrupt  work  that  had  been  prompted  by  real 
patriotism  and  work  that  often  meant  so  much,  it  be- 
came necessary  for  the  authorities  to  issue  a  state- 
ment to  the  effect  that  "godmothering'*  was  not  ap- 
proved by  the  military  authorities.    Mrs.  Philip  N. 

420 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

Moore,  chairman  of  the  Health  and  Recreation  Com- 
mittee of  the  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of 
National  Defense,  made  it  a  point  to  see  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  in  person  and  to  ask  him  for  information 
on  this  point.  Subsequently  a  statement  went  out 
from  the  Woman's  Committee  to  this  effect: 
'* Neither  the  War  Department  nor  the  Woman's 
Committee  furnishes  names  of  soldiers  for  'godmoth- 
ering,'  "  says  Mrs.  Philip  N.  Moore,  chairman  of  the 
Health  and  Recreation  Department  of  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  Defense. 
''While  the  Department  appreciates  deeply  the  fine 
spirit  in  which  the  women  are  offering  to  write  to 
soldiers  at  the  front,  the  experience  of  France  and 
England  has  proved  that  the  plan  ultimately  works 
more  harm  than  good.  General  Sibert  has  recently 
issued  a  statement  from  France  to  this  effect,  and 
shows  his  marked  disapproval  of  the  idea.  We  re- 
ceive so  many  letters  asking  us  for  names  of  soldiers 
that  a  statement  should  be  made  through  the  press 
stating  that  we  are  not  indorsing  the  plan.  We  will 
send  out  to  our  state  committees  a  plan  of  organized 
work  which  is  being  done  under  the  direction  of  the 
Commission  on  Training  Camp  Activities.  This  Com- 
mittee, I  understand,  has  authorized  only  two  agencies 
to  take  charge  of  such  questions  concerning  camp  ac- 
tivities as  that  of  'godmothering.'  These  are  the 
sub-committee  on  Protective  Work  for  Girls  of  the 
New  York  Probation  and  Protective  Association,  ]\Iiss 
Maud  Miner,  director,  and  the  'Hostess  Houses' 
Committee  under  'Proper  Chaperonage  for  Girls,' 
600  Lexington  Avenue,  New  York  City,  IMiss  Kather- 
ine  Scott,  director." 

421 


CHAPTER  XXX 

VACATION  ASSOCIATION,  NEEDLEWORK  GUILD 
AND  OTHER  AGENCIES 

Organization  and  growth  of  Vacation  Association  War 
Relief — Flotilla  Committee  and  its  wonderful  work — 
Militia  of  Mercy — Needlework  Guild  of  America — 
Committee  for  Men  Blinded  in  Battle — Emergency  Aid 
of  Pennsylvania — Committee  of  Mercy  and  its  contri- 
bution of  over  $2,000,000— Hudson  River  War  Relief- 
League  of  the  Allies — League  of  Catholic  Women — 
Mercy  Committee  of  New  Jersey. 

The  story  of  the  organization  and  growth  of  the 
Vacation  Association,  Incorporated  (New  York),  is 
full  of  interest.  Just  twenty-seven  days  after  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  the  Vacation  War  Relief  Com- 
mittee of  this  organization  was  started.  The  Vaca- 
tion Association  is  an  integral  part  of  the  Woman's 
Department  of  the  National  Civic  Federation,  and  its 
name  is  derived  from  its  initial  purpose,  which  was 
to  enable  self-supporting  girls  and  women  to  save 
money  for  proper  and  healthful  vacations.  One  of 
the  most  helpful  branches  of  the  work  undertaken  by 
the  War  Relief  Committee  was  a  free  employment 
bureau  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  had  lost  their  po- 
sitions because  of  war  conditions.  As  it  was  found 
that  many  of  these  girls,  who  had  previously  earned 
good  wages  and  were  in  no  way  charity  cases,  had 

422 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

been  made  practically  destitute,  it  was  decided  to 
open  temporary  workrooms  where  a  tide-over  wage  of 
seventy-five  cents  a  day  could  be  paid  on  garments 
made  for  the  European  emergency  hospitals  and  war 
refugees.  The  War  Relief  Committee  came  into  be- 
ing in  September,  1914,  with  Miss  Gertrude  Robinson 
Smith,  chairman.  Immediately  a  number  of  existing 
organizations  cooperated.  These  included  the  Depart- 
ment of  Correction,  the  Woman's  Auxiliary  to  the 
Tuberculosis  Clinic  of  the  Department  of  Health,  the 
Association  of  Catholic  Charities,  the  Charity  Organ- 
ization Society,  the  State  Charities  Aid,  the  New  York 
Association  of  Women  Workers,  and  the  Department 
Store  Education  Association.  Results  accomplished 
were  remarkable.  The  Special  Case  Committee  in- 
vestigated all  the  destitute  cases,  and  all  those  need- 
ing special  relief  or  medical  attention.  During  the 
first  five  weeks  of  its  existence  the  Bureau  registered 
849  girls,  of  which  number  188  were  placed  imme- 
diately. 

In  the  first  year's  work  of  the  Committee  three 
principles  were  outlined  as  being  the  main  object  of 
the  Committee:  first,  to  meet  here  in  America  the 
very  serious  industrial  situation  resulting  from  the 
outbreak  of  the  war ;  second,  to  further  in  every  pos- 
sible way  the  sending  of  the  much  needed  supplies  to 
the  European  war  sufferers;  third,  to  seek  coopera- 
tion wherever  possible  with  other  organizations.  So 
strikingly  successful  has  been  the  work  of  this  Com- 
mittee that  it  has  had  the  cordial  cooperation  of  some 
of  the  most  important  organizations  in  America. 
These  include  the  Association  for  Improving  the  Con- 
dition of  the  Poor,  the  Federated  Employment  Bu- 

423 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

reau  for  Jewish  Girls,  the  League  of  Catholic  Women 
for  Social  and  Civic  Reform,  the  Mayor  ^s  Committee 
on  Unemployment,  the  New  York  Association  of 
Women  Workers,  the  State  Charities  Aid  Associa- 
tion, Women's  Conference  Society  for  Ethical  Cul- 
ture, Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  Ameri- 
can Fund  for  French  Wounded,  and  many  other  for- 
eign relief  societies. 

Mrs.  Coffin  Van  Rensselaer,  as  chairman  of  the  Em- 
ployment Bureau,  has  done  excellent  work.  Two  ex- 
periments were  in  progress  in  the  fall  of  1917.  One 
has  to  do  with  vocational  help  to  children  at  the  point 
of  leaving  school,  and  the  other  is  a  health  project  for 
the  benefit  of  wage  earning  girls.  The  latter  is  oper- 
ated in  connection  with  the  Woman's  Municipal 
League,  a  free  clinic,  the  immediate  object  of  which 
is  to  make  examination  and  to  suggest  changes  in 
habits,  diet,  kind  of  work,  etc.,  when  they  are  de- 
sired. Girls  needing  medical  or  surgical  care  are  en- 
couraged to  go  to  the  special  physicians  or  dispen- 
saries suitable  to  their  needs.  The  achievements  of 
the  workroom  committee  have  been  equally  notable. 
In  fifteen  months  orders  amounting  to  more  than 
$126,000  passed  through  the  order  department,  of 
which  Miss  Maude  Wetmore  is  chairman. 

Of  especial  interest  is  the  work  of  the  Flotilla  Com- 
mittee organized  in  November,  1915,  as  the  result  of 
an  urgent  appeal  sent  by  Mrs.  Edith  Wharton  for 
surgical  motors  for  the  advanced  trenches.  These 
formations  of  flotillas,  completely  equipped,  cost  $12,- 
000  and  consist  of  five  cars  each,  one  carrying  a  port- 
able operating  room  with  radioscopic  apparatus  re- 
quiring only  two  hours  to  set  up ;  another  a  powerful 

424 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

electric  lighting:  and  heating  installation ;  a  third,  a 
laundry  capable  of  handling  six  hundred  pounds  of 
soiled  linen  at  a  time ;  the  fourth,  a  drying  van ;  and 
the  fifth,  an  installation  for  douches,  disinfection,  de- 
struction of  vermin,  sterilizing  of  drinking  water  and 
shelter  tanks. 

The  first  contribution  received  was  from  Mrs.  Dan- 
iel Guggenheim,  who  contributed  $12,000,  and  the 
first  Flotilla  was  sent  to  the  Secours  aux  Blesses  Mili- 
taires  in  December,  1915.  This  generous  contribution 
greatly  stimulated  other  donations,  $32,437  being 
raised  in  a  month. 

Madame  Emma  Calve  offered  to  assist  in  organizing 
a  French  Flotilla  Benefit  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House.  The  benefit  took  place  on  January  4,  1916, 
and  was  an  enormous  success. 

A  Militia  of  Mercy  organized  in  1916  in  New  York 
City  to  care  for  the  children  afflicted  by  infantile 
paralysis  has  used  its  large  and  powerful  organization 
in  the  most  effective  way  for  war  work.  Its  first  ac- 
tivity was  the  care  of  the  families  of  the  Navy  ]\Iili- 
tiamen.  The  Comforts  Committee  sells  wool  at  a 
little  more  than  the  wholesale  price  to  the  public. 
The  profit  is  used  to  cover  running  expenses,  and 
what  remains  is  placed  in  the  Special  Fund,  which  is 
used  to  purchase  wool  for  women  who  have  the  time 
to  knit  but  who  cannot  afford  to  pay  for  the  wool. 
An  old  lady  in  Brooklyn  sent  to  the  Militia  of  Mercy 
a  scarf  which  had  been  knitted  for  her  husband  who 
was  a  sea  captain.  He  died  twenty  years  ago  and 
she  had  cherished  this  scarf  in  his  memory.  Being 
very  poor  and  wanting  to  do  her  bit  she  sent  the  scarf 
in  the  hope  that  it  might  help  some  man  in  the  Navy. 

425 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

The  Militia  of  Mercy  appreciated  the  spirit  of  the  gift 
and  sent  it  with  an  explanatory  letter  to  the  com- 
mander of  an  American  battleship  and  the  scarf  was 
given  to  an  American  sailor. 

Another  organization  which  was  doing  beautiful 
work  when  war  was  declared  and  which  turned  the 
current  of  its  effort  to  war  relief  is  the  Needlework 
Guild  of  America,  a  *' Bridge  from  the  Island  of 
Waste  to  the  Island  of  Want."  This  society  has  400 
branches  scattered  over  the  United  States  and  its 
large  membership  includes  25,000  directors  whose 
duty  it  is  to  collect  and  distribute  new,  plain  suitable 
garments  to  meet  the  great  need  of  hospitals,  homes 
and  other  charities.  During  the  flood  and  tornado 
devastations  of  1912  and  1913  the  Needlework  Guild 
rendered  a  superb  service  as  it  has  done  in  many  other 
disasters  since  it  was  organized  thirty-two  years  ago. 
Prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  European  War,  a  branch 
had  been  established  in  Lyons,  France,  which  imme- 
diately upon  the  declaration  of  hostilities  took  up  war 
relief  work.  Its  first  assistance  was  the  clothing  of 
Belgian  refugees,  and  as  the  result  of  an  appeal  to  the 
members  in  the  United  States,  $20,000  was  sent  to 
France  in  December,  1914,  with  which  workrooms 
were  opened  in  Lyons.  More  than  300  women  were 
given  employment  and  25,000  garments  were  dis- 
tributed to  the  hospitals  for  the  wounded.  Nearly 
1,000,000  garments  and  surgical  dressings  have  been 
distributed  in  France  and  sent  to  her  Allies  by  173 
branches  of  the  Needlework  Guild  in  America.  This 
splendid  organization  was  founded  by  Mrs.  John 
Wood  Stewart  of  Glen  Ridge,  New  Jersey,  and  Mrs. 
Levi  P.  Morton  of  New  York  City  is  honorary  presi- 

426 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

dent.  The  National  office  is  in  Philadelphia  and  the 
organization  is  affiliated  with  the  American  Red 
Cross  and  the  General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs 
and  is  a  member  of  the  National  Conference  of  Chari- 
ties and  Correction  and  the  National  Council  of 
Women  of  the  United  States.  Mrs.  Truman  II.  New- 
berry, of  Detroit,  Michigan,  is  national  president,  and 
the  national  vice  presidents  are  Mrs.  George  Fales 
Baker,  Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. ;  Mrs.  Robert  F.  Harding, 
Fort  Wayne,  Ind. ;  Mrs.  Samuel  Semple,  Titusville, 
Pa.;  and  Miss  Julia  M.  Wolbert,  Tacoma,  AVash. 
Mrs.  Oliver  S.  Keely  is  recording  secretary,  Mrs. 
Heber  Smith,  treasurer  and  Miss  Rosamond  K.  Ben- 
der, corresponding  secretary.  Mrs.  John  W^ood  Stew- 
art is  chairman  of  the  War  Relief  Department,  and 
other  officers  include  Mrs.  Joseph  Guedy,  secretary; 
Mrs.  Oliver  S.  Keely,  trustee;  and  Mrs.  W.  A.  Nich- 
ols, Wayne,  Pa. ;  Mrs.  Isaac  Gimble,  New  York  City ; 
Mrs.  William  Spencer,  Erie,  Pa.;  Mrs.  H.  J.  Harris, 
Glen  Ridge,  New  Jersey;  Mrs.  William  T.  Barber, 
Detroit,  Mich.;  and  Mrs.  Hoffman  Atkinson,  New 
York  City.  The  War  Relief  Office  is  at  70  Fifth  Ave., 
New  York  City. 

The  Committee  for  Men  Blinded  in  Battle  was  the 
outcome  of  the  New  York  Association  for  the  Blind, 
organized  in  1906.  Its  headquarters  are  at  Light 
House  No.  1  in  New  York.  The  building  was  offi- 
cially opened  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  the  work  was  conducted  under  the  presidency  of 
the  late  Honorable  Joseph  H.  Choate.  The  Commit- 
tee for  Men  Blinded  in  Battle  was  the  first  organiza- 
tion to  be  formed  to  aid  the  war  blind.  It  has  as- 
sisted in  various  ways,   3,000  men,   including  eight 

427 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

different  nationalities,  and  instruction  has  been  given 
to  more  than  300.  More  than  8,000  gifts  have  been 
made  to  the  war  blind,  and  these  unfortunate  men 
have  been  taught  and  aided  in  over  50  hospitals. 
A  number  of  these  pupils  have  already  taken  their 
places  in  the  sighted  world  as  competent  wage  earn- 
ers. Among  the  professions  taught  in  the  Light 
House  are  handicraft,  languages,  typewriting,  stenog- 
raphy, commerce,  music,  modeling,  etc.  The  Com- 
mittee succors  and  relieves  the  blind  whenever  pos- 
sible and  gives  re-education  to  such  as  are  fitted  to 
profit  by  its  teaching.  Mr.  John  H.  Finley  is  acting 
president  and  the  vice  presidents  are  Miss  Winifred 
Holt,  William  Howard  Taft  and  Charles  E.  Hughes. 
The  honorary  chairman  is  the  Bishop  of  New  York, 
the  secretary  is  Mrs.  Peter  Cooper  Hewitt  and  the 
treasurer,  Mr.  William  Forbes  Morgan.  Headquar- 
ters, 111  East  59th  St.,  New  York. 

One  of  the  most  far-reaching  organizations  for  war 
relief  in  the  United  States  is  the  Emergency  Aid  of 
Pennsylvania,  which,  with  59  associate  organizations 
and  branches,  33  of  which  have  been  formed  since 
March  1,  1917,  comprises  more  than  four  thousand 
members.  The  central  committee,  of  which  Mrs.  A. 
J.  Cassatt  is  the  chairman,  has  26  separate  commit- 
tees, the  work  of  each  of  which  is  distinct  and  which 
results  in  the  carrying  of  relief  to  virtually  all  the 
Allied  countries,  meeting  many  and  diverse  needs 
and  covering  practically  the  entire  gamut  of  war  re- 
lief enterprise.  The  Emergency  Aid  is  also  engaged 
in  valuable  domestic  activities.  In  all,  a  total  of 
nearly  $2,000,000  had  been  received.  The  vice  chair- 
men   are   Mrs.    Edward    Browning,    Mrs.    John    C. 

428 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

Groome,  Mrs.  George  Q.  Ilorwitz,  Mrs.  J.  Willis 
Martin,  Mrs.  Cornelius  Stevenson,  Mrs.  E.  T.  Stotes- 
bury  and  Mrs.  Barclay  H.  Warburton.  Mrs.  Thomas 
Robins  is  secretary,  Mrs.  Edward  K.  Rowland,  cor- 
responding secretary  and  Mrs.  J.  Norman  Jackson, 
treasurer.  Headquarters,  1428  Walnut  St.,  Philadel- 
phia. 

The  Committee  of  Mercy  was  established  in  Oc- 
tober, 1914,  with  the  approval  of  President  Wilson,  to 
help  the  women  and  children  and  other  noncom- 
batants  made  destitute  by  the  war.  Associated  in 
the  Committee's  formation  were  Mrs.  J.  Borden  Har- 
riman,  Miss  Katharine  B.  Davis,  Norman  Hapgood, 
John  Moffat  and  T.  C.  Glen-Coats.  Mr.  Elihu  Root 
is  honorary  president,  and  the  vice  presidents  in- 
clude Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot  of  Harvard  University, 
John  Purroy  Mitchel,  ex-Mayor  of  New  York,  Miss 
Katharine  B.  Davis,  chairman.  Parole  Commis- 
sion of  New  York,  and  Mrs.  J.  Borden  Har- 
riman.  Mr.  August  Belmont  is  treasurer.  The 
Committee  of  Mercy,  up  to  the  summer  of 
1917,  had  collected  more  than  $2,065,000.  In 
addition  to  the  relief  administered  through  re- 
liable agencies  in  France,  Russia,  Armenia,  Serbia, 
Montenegro  and  Poland,  considerable  sums  have  been 
raised  for  other  relief  committees.  Headquarters,  360 
Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City. 

Immediately  upon  the  declaration  of  war  Mrs.  H. 
Fairfield  Osborn  organized  the  Hudson  River  War 
Relief  Committee  and  sub-committees,  and  sewing  and 
knitting  socials  were  established  in  the  small  towns 
and  villages  along  the  Hudson  River.  Associated 
with  Mrs.  Osborn  are  Mrs.  Cornelius  R.  Agnew,  Mrs. 

429 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Vincent  Astor,  Miss  Grace  Bigelow,  Miss  Catherine 
S.  Burton,  Mrs.  Charles  DeRahm,  Miss  Madeline  I. 
Dinsmore,  Mrs.  Cleveland  H.  Dodge,  Mrs.  Martin  H. 
Glynn,  Mrs.  Levi  P.  Morton,  Miss  Mary  Haidane, 
Miss  Irene  M.  Hedges,  Miss  Gertrude  L.  Hoyt,  Mrs. 
Robert  P.  Huntington,  Mrs.  Ogden  Mills,  Mrs.  Archi- 
bald Rogers,  Mrs.  James  Roosevelt,  Mrs.  Samuel 
Sloan,  Mrs.  Clarence  Page  Townsley  and  Mrs.  Fred- 
erick W.  Vanderbilt.  Headquarters,  Room  65,  18 
West  34th  St.,  New  York  City. 

The  league  of  the  Allies,  360  Madison  Ave.,  New 
York  City,  has  for  its  object  relief  for  the  sufferers 
in  all  the  countries  affiliated  with  the  Entente  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  war  against  the  Central  Em- 
pires. Money  has  been  raised  chiefly  by  the  great 
Allied  bazaars  held  in  the  Grand  Central  Palace  in 
New  York  in  1916  and  1917.  Among  the  prominent 
women  identified  with  the  work  are  Mrs.  Charles 
B.  Alexander,  Mrs.  Gertrude  Atherton,  Mrs.  H.  R. 
Beckwith,  Mrs.  William  Astor  Chanler,  Lady 
Colebrooke,  Mrs.  William  H.  Crocker,  Mrs.  C.  C. 
Cuyler,  Miss  M.  L.  de  Sadeleer,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Ditson, 
Mrs.  Newbold  Leroy  Edgar,  Mrs.  Jeanne  L.  Etty, 
Mrs.  William  Faversham,  Mrs.  Marshall  Field,  Jr., 
Mrs.  Charles  Dana  Gibson,  Mrs.  Benjamin  Guinness, 
Mrs.  J.  Borden  Harriman,  Mrs.  Ernest  Iselin,  Lady 
Lister  Kaye,  Mrs.  Maurice  Kozminiski,  Mrs.  Charles 
H.  Marshall,  Miss  Elsa  Maxwell,  Mrs.  Walter  E. 
Maynard,  Miss  Margaret  Mayo,  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer, 
Mrs.  Gifford  Pinchot,  Mrs.  Joseph  Pulitzer,  Mrs. 
James  Lowell  Putnam,  Mrs.  Ralph  Sanger,  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Sears,  Mrs.  William  Payne  Thompson,  Mrs.  H.  J. 
Whigham  and  Mrs,  Harry    Payne    Whitney.    Mrs. 

430 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

Michael  Gavin  is  secretary  and  Mrs.  Andrew  W. 
Dougherty  is  treasurer. 

The  League  of  Catholic  Women  is  a  New  York 
State  organization  with  branches  in  various  cities. 
Miss  Teresa  R.  O'Donohue  is  president.  Mrs.  Nicho- 
las F.  Brady,  Mrs.  Alfred  C.  Chapin,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Marbury,  and  Mrs.  Francis  Bur  rail  Hoffman  are  vice 
presidents.  Mrs.  P.  J.  Gallagher  offered  her  resi- 
dence, 154  East  38th  Street,  New  York  City,  as  head- 
quarters for  the  League  of  Catholic  Women  for  the 
duration  of  the  war.  The  League  cooperates  with 
other  Catholic  organizations  and  supplies  hospital  gar- 
ments and  other  articles  made  according  to  Red  Cross 
and  French  standards.  Twenty-seven  organizations 
of  Catholic  women  are  uniting  in  one  great  powerful 
committee  which  is  doing  nation-wide  war  work  along 
all  lines.  Headquarters,  Woodward  Bldg.,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  Father  Louis  J.  0  'Hearn  is  General  Chair- 
man. 

The  Mercy  Committee  of  New  Jersey,  since  the  war 
began,  has  sent  abroad  approximately  70,000  garments 
and  more  than  $10,000.  The  junior  branches  have 
also  made  bandages  and  have  sent  a  large  number  to 
Europe  through  the  Red  Cross  Surgical  Dressings 
Committee.  The  Committee's  work  is  now  largely 
devoted  to  the  equipment  and  reconstruction  of  the 
military  hospital  located  at  Iselin.  Mrs.  Charles  D. 
Freeman  is  president,  ^Mrs.  Fred  H.  Albee,  Mrs.  J. 
Kirtland  Myers  and  Mrs.  Jabez  Gilbert  are  vice  presi- 
dents and  Mrs.  Chapman  Fiske  is  secretary.  Head- 
quarters, Iselin. 

In  February,  1917,  Columbia  University  mobilized 
and  sent  out  enrollment  blanks  to  all  men  and  women 

431 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

connected  in  any  way  with  the  University.  About 
eight  thousand  women  answered  and  a  separate  Com- 
mittee of  Women's  War  Work  was  formed  which 
opened  its  Information  Bureau  on  April  6,  1917. 
This  Committee  registers  for  volunteer  or  paid  war 
work,  any  woman  who  is  or  has  been  connected  with 
the  University.  It  supplies  information  as  to  courses 
and  needs  in  war  activities.  It  furnishes  volunteer 
workers  and  fills  paid  positions.  It  is  in  close  touch 
with  other  War  Organizations  in  the  city  and  with 
various  departments  at  Washington.  Its  headquar- 
ters are  in  Room  301,  Philosophy  Hall,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, New  York  City;  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Women's  War  Work,  Virginia  C.  Gildersleeve ; 
executive  secretary,  Virginia  Newcomb. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

SPECIAL  AID  SOCIETY,  AND  WORK  OF 
JEWISH  WOMEN 

National  Special  Aid  Society — Trench  Comforts  Packet 
Committee — Artists'  Committee  of  One  Hundred — 
White  Cross  Guard  movement — Southern  Women's 
Patriotic  Committee — Physicians,  Surgeons  and  Den- 
tists' Fund — Council  of  Jewish  Women  and  some  of  its 
cooperating  organizations — Joint  Distribution  Commit- 
tee of  Fund  for  Jewish  War  Sufferers — Zionist  organ- 
izations— Authors'  League  fund. 

One  of  the  largest  and  most  important  of  America's 
War  Relief  Organizations  is  the  National  Special  Aid 
Society  with  headquarters  at  259  Fifth  Avenue,  New 
York  City.  Mrs.  William  Alexander  is  president, 
Mrs.  Charles  Frederick  Hoffman,  vice  president,  and 
Mrs.  Henry  A.  Wise  Wood,  secretary.  The  Society 
was  formed  in  1915.  It  has  2,000  members  in  New 
York  and  30,000  in  the  Nation.  It  has  achieved  many 
remarkable  things.  When  it  was  two  years  old  it 
had  presented  six  automobiles  to  the  Navy  and  Ma- 
rine Corps.  With  very  marked  success  it  has  con- 
ducted patriotic  lectures  and  it  has  assisted  in  re- 
cruiting and  training  aviators.  One  of  its  most  ac- 
tive and  efficient  committees  is  that  devoted  to  avia- 
tion. Through  this  committee  a  hospital  for  the  Navy 
Militia  has  been  built  at  Bay  Shore,  and  a  number 

433 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

of  aviators  have  been  sent  abroad.  An  ambulance 
was  presented  to  the  Marine  Corps  and  funds  for  its 
upkeep  for  one  year.  Three  beds  have  been  endowed 
in  the  hospital  at  Paris.  The  Society  acts  as  a  clear- 
ing house  for  the  National  Union  of  Women  Workers 
of  England ;  has  given  three  motor  trucks  to  the  Na- 
tional Guard  Regiment;  provides  free  French  lessons 
for  nurses  going  to  France,  and  also  supplies  surgical 
dressings  and  hospital  supplies  for  the  Red  Cross, 
clothing  for  the  French  children  and  books  and  sup- 
plies for  the  Navy  Militia  and  Aviation  Schools.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  among  the  many  relief  organiza- 
tions formed  by  American  women  none  have  achieved 
more  than  has  the  National  Special  Aid  Society 
through  its  various  activities. 

The  Trench  Comfort  Packet  Committee  for  the 
United  States  and  her  Allies,  headquarters,  Lord  and 
Taylors,  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York  City,  has  approximately 
one  hundred  communities  at  work  and  is  organizing  in 
all  of  the  states.  Like  the  National  Surgical  Dressings 
Committee  of  America,  of  which  Mrs.  Mary  Hatch 
Willard  is  also  chairman,  the  formation  of  the  Trench 
Comfort  Packets  for  the  United  States  and  her  Allies 
was  the  outcome  of  one  of  Mrs.  Willard 's  visits  to 
France,  where  she  saw  how  greatlj^  the  men  at  the 
military  depot  en  route  for  the  trenches  appreciated 
warm  clothing  and  the  small  comforts  and  necessities 
which  every  soldier  needs.  The  scope  of  the  Commit- 
tee's work  originally  was  to  supply  comfort  packets 
for  the  armies  of  the  Entente  Allies,  but  this  has  now 
been  broadened  to  include  packets  for  the  American 
troops.  Many  thousand  packets  have  been  sent  to 
England,  France,  Belgium,  Italy  and  Russia. 

434 


WAR  KELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

A  beautiful  story  of  real  service  and  self-sacri- 
ficing fraternalism  is  told  in  the  records  of  the  Ameri- 
can Artists'  Committee  of  One  Hundred  of  which  Mr. 
William  A.  Coffin,  N.  A.,  is  chairman.  Among  the 
prominent  women  members  of  the  Committee  are: 
Alice  Worthington  Ball,  Cecilia  Beaux,  N.  A.,  Mary- 
Greene  Blumenschein,  A.  N.  A.,  Lucia  Fairchild 
Fuller,  A.  N.  A.,  Mary  B.  Ilazleton,  Adele  Herter, 
Anna  Vaughn  Hyatt,  A.  N.  A.,  Ella  Condie  Lamb, 
Evelyn  Beatrice  Longman,  A.  N.  A.,  Mary  Fairchild 
Low,  A.  N.  A.,  Lilla  Cabot  Perry,  Edith  ]\Iitchill 
Prellwitz,  A.  N.  A.,  May  Wilson  Preston,  Harriet 
Sartain,  Janet  Scudder,  Sarah  Choate  Sears,  Helen 
D.  Sortwell,  Anne  Crane,  Louise  Cox,  A.  N.  A.,  and 
Jane  Peterson. 

Of  the  accomplishments  and  future  plans  of  the 
Committee,  Mr.  Coffin  says: 

''The  first  steps  toward  the  formation  of  the  Ameri- 
can Artists'  Committee  of  One  Hundred  w^ere  taken 
as  early  as  August  20,  1914,  three  weeks  after  the 
beginning  of  the  Great  War.  The  Committee  was 
organized  September  25th,  and  our  first  remittance 
($1,500.00)  w^as  cabled  to  M.  Bonnat  on  the  fourteenth 
of  October.  In  the  two  years  of  the  war  we  sent, 
in  all,  to  Paris,  for  the  relief  of  the  families  of  French 
Soldier- Artists — mothers,  wives,  children,  little  broth- 
ers and  sisters  and  other  dependents — the  sum  of 
$21,675.00,  or  some  125,000  francs.  This  we  consider 
a  gratifj^ing  result  of  our  efforts  and  it  is  fair  to  say 
that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  money  has  come 
from  American  artists,  though  we  have  had,  also, 
numerous  contributions  from  our  friends.  From  Oc- 
tober, 1914,  to  July  4,  1915,  we  remitted  from  our 

435 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

general  fund  $5,500.00,  and  from  the  proceeds  of  our 
Exhibition  at  the  Knoedler  Galleries,  in  February, 
$11,575.00,  a  total  of  $17,075.00.  Since  July,  1915, 
we  have  been  able  to  send  only  $4,600.00,  for  the  great 
multitude  of  appeals  seemed  to  make  it  increasingly 
difficult  to  obtain  contributions.  We  hope  to  con- 
tinue in  our  own  field  our  help,  through  the  wide- 
reaching  organization  of  the  Fraternite  des  Artistes, 
to  the  dependents  of  the  artist-soldiers  at  the  front 
and  of  those  who  have,  alas!  been  killed  in  battle. 
Many  fine  young  lives  in  the  budding  of  their  talent 
and  others  in  its  full  flower  have  been  laid  on  the 
altar  of  their  country ;  other  artist-soldiers  have  been 
blinded  or  maimed  for  life.  Think  of  a  painter  or  a 
sculptor  whose  arms  are  cut  off  or  of  one  whose  eyes 
are  gone  forever! 

''The  Committee  of  the  Fraternite,  headed  by  M. 
Leon  Bonnat,  whose  indefatigable  devotion  in  the 
present  crisis  is  admired  throughout  all  France,  is  a 
working,  and  in  no  sense  an  honorary  committee. 
The  Fraternite  membership  includes  painters,  sculp- 
tors, architects,  engravers  and  other  art  workers  be- 
longing to  the  great  French  art  societies,  without  re- 
gard to  creed,  whether  academic  or  revolutionary. 
All  are  united  for  the  common  cause  and  they  have 
done  and  are  doing  much,  in  spite  of  the  standstill 
caused  by  the  War,  to  help  the  destitute  families  of 
their  confreres  at  the  front.  They  have  shown  us  by 
every  means  in  their  power  and  by  many  beautiful 
and  heartfelt  expressions  of  gratitude  their  apprecia- 
tion of  our  work  and  of  the  support  of  our  friends. 
Our  sympathy  and  our  material  aid — perhaps,  I  may 
say,  the  way  we  have  conveyed  this  aid  to  them,  hon- 

436 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

oring  ourselves  in  doing  so — have  comforted  them  and 
have  drawn  to  us,  in  sympathetic  relations,  a  far 
wider  circle  than  the  art  world  of  Paris.  Art  may- 
have  no  nationality,  as  has  often  been  said,  but  the 
American  artists  and  those  of  France,  always  closely 
interdependent  before  the  "War,  have,  since  its  out- 
break, been  united  by  a  stronger  bond,  one  of  friend- 
ship and  brotherhood,  that  1  am  sure  will  endure 
through  coming  generations.  We  seek  to  still  fur- 
ther widen  these  relations  and  bring  within  the  bond 
many  more  who  recognize  our  debt  and  the  debt  of 
world  civilization  to  the  valiant  country  that  is  fight- 
ing for  the  cause  of  liberty  and  for  the  ideals  that  we 
cherish  and  believe  will  prevail. 

''We  conduct  our  work  in  the  most  economical  way 
possible  and  our  total  expense  account  (including  the 
exhibition  in  1915)  shows  it  to  be  but  4.60%  of 
our  gross  receipts.  Our  account  is  kept  with  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Bank,  New  York,  which  acts  as  our 
remitting  agency  to  the  Credit  Lyomiais,  and  our 
credits  in  Paris  are  payable  to  M.  Leon  Bonnat,  who 
cables  acknowledgement  as  soon  as  money  is  paid 
over.  I  may  close  with  a  brief  extract  from  one  of 
his  earliest  letters,  written  in  his  own  hand — and  I 
translate — 'How  far  away,  my  dear  Coffin,  seem  now 
the  quiet  days  when  w^e  were  absorbed  with  other 
preoccupations,  when  we  were  busy  with  other  strug- 
gles— those  of  pure  art!  But  those  days,  I  am  con- 
vinced, will  come  back  to  us.  It  is  not  possible  that 
the  efforts  our  valiant  sons  are  making  will  not  be 
rewarded.'  " 

The  White  Cross  Guard  Movement  was  started  by 
Miss  Adella  Potter  of  the  Woman's  Suffrage  Party  of 

437 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

New  York  State  in  the  spring  of  1917  after  the  sol- 
diers were  first  mobilized.  This  suffrage  association 
had  been  very  active  in  war  work,  assisting  in  taking 
the  military  census,  organizing  Red  Cross  groups, 
starting  farming,  gardening,  etc.  Realizing  the  need 
of  work  among  the  soldiers  the  organization  began  the 
White  Cross  Guard  Movement.  There  are  no  officers 
and  no  dues,  but  in  various  localities  a  button  has  been 
worked  out  which  bears  a  white  maltese  cross  on  a 
Belgian-blue  background.  Women  living  near  large 
encampments  are  asked  to  get  in  touch  with  the  chap- 
lains of  all  regiments  stationed  there  and  to  work  out 
with  them  and  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretaries  a  plan  for 
establishing  reading  rooms,  rest  rooms,  etc.  The  Or- 
ganization has  also  looked  after  isolated  soldiers  who 
are  guarding  bridges,  trestles  and  tunnels,  and  who  are 
not  reached  by  the  moral  work  of  the  encampment. 
Work  has  also  been  done  among  the  girls,  teaching 
them  their  duty  in  the  national  crisis,  and  an  appeal 
is  also  made  to  the  soldiers  themselves,  urging  them 
that  they  honor  at  all  times  the  uniforms  they  wear. 
The  New  York  Southern  Women's  Patriotic  Com- 
mittee was  founded  by  Mrs.  Algernon  Sydney  Sulli- 
van, and  cooperates  with  other  war  relief  societies  for 
the  American  Army  and  Navy.  The  president  is 
Mrs.  Richard  Kingsman  Cautley,  and  the  vice  presi- 
dents are  Dr.  Rosalie  Slaughter  Morton,  Mrs.  Isa  Car- 
rington  Cabell,  Mrs.  Livingston  Rowe  Schuyler,  and 
Mrs.  Silas  F.  Catchings ;  Mrs.  N.  P.  Catling  is  record- 
ing secretary,  Mrs.  C.  F.  Houston,  corresponding  sec- 
retary, and  Mrs.  Francis  E.  Hill,  treasurer.  The 
New  York  Southern  Women's  Patriotic  Committee 
tendered  its  services  to  the  United  States  Government 

438 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

and  received  personal  letters  from  the  President  of 
the  United  States  and  from  the  Secretary  of  War. 

The  Physicians,  Surgeons  and  Dentists'  Fund,  16 
East  47th  St.,  New  York  City,  has  for  its  purpose 
the  raising  of  money  for  the  purchase  of  instruments 
and  supplies  by  the  physicians,  surgeons  and  den- 
tists of  the  United  States.  In  a  short  time  more 
than  $12,000  was  received  in  subscriptions,  of  which 
amount  $8,500  was  forwarded  to  the  American  War 
Relief  Clearing  House  in  Paris  for  the  purpose 
of  purchasing  medical,  surgical  and  dental  in- 
struments and  supplies.  Supplies  of  the  same  char- 
acter have  been  purchased  in  the  United  States  and 
forwarded  to  Paris,  costing  nearly  $4,000,  in  addition 
to  which  a  large  number  of  instruments  and  supplies 
have  been  donated  here  and  forwarded  to  France. 

The  Jewish  women  ttirough  their  national  organi- 
zation, the  Council  of  Jewish  Women,  have  been  ex- 
tremely active  in  various  lines  of  war  work.  Mrs. 
Nathaniel  E.  Harris,  of  Bradford,  Pennsylvania,  is 
president,  and  the  honorary  vice  presidents  are  Mrs. 
Jacob  H.  Schiff,  New  York  City;  Mrs.  A.  N.  Cohen, 
New  York  City;  Mrs.  Hugo  Rosenberg,  Pittsburgh, 
Pa.;  Mrs.  Solomon  Hirsch,  Portland,  Oregon;  Mrs. 
M.  C.  Sloss,  San  Francisco,  Calif. ;  Mrs.  Ceasar  Misch, 
Providence,  R.  I.;  and  Mrs.  Isidor  Newman,  New 
Orleans,  Louisiana.  Other  officers  are  ]\Irs.  Eli  Herts- 
berg,  San  Antonio,  Texas ;  Miss  Rose  Brenner,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y. ;  Mrs.  Harry  Glicksman,  New  Haven,  Conn. ; 
Mrs.  Leo  H.  Herz,  New  Haven,  Conn.;  and  Mrs. 
Ernestine  B.  Dreyfus,  Kansas  City,  Mo.  The  Coun- 
cil cooperates  with  the  National  League  for  Woman's 
Service  and  is  a  constituent  member  of  the  National 

439 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Council  of  Women.  The  Council  has  eighty-nine  sec- 
tions and  is  represented  in  the  State  Divisions  of  the 
Woman's  Committee  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense in  every  state  where  these  sections  are  organ- 
ized. The  membership  is  about  22,000.  Perhaps  the 
most  interesting  of  the  active  war  work  undertaken 
by  the  Council  is  that  of  Immigrant  Aid,  which  was 
readjusted  to  meet  war  conditions.  A  scheme  was 
put  into  operation  to  meet  shifting  labor  conditions 
as  they  effect  Jewish  girls  and  alien  young  women, 
particularly  in  emergency  employments,  with  a  view 
to  securing  proper  housing  for  large  groups  who  may 
be  recruited  for  special  government  work,  and  of  put- 
ting them  into  touch  with  educational  influences 
through  Citizenship  Leagues  and  Classes.  The  Coun- 
cil's plans  for  Americanization  and  vocational  guid- 
ance is  unique  and  offers  opportunity  for  important 
constructive  work.  The  National  Chairman  of  the 
Department  of  Immigrant  Aid  is  Miss  Helen  Wink- 
ler, who  has  offices  at  242  East  Broadway,  New  York 
City. 

The  Council  of  Jewish  Women  was  the  first  organi- 
zation to  lend  their  aid  as  a  body  to  the  League  for 
Woman's  Service.  A  resolution  offered  by  Mrs.  Ko- 
hut,  to  the  effect  that  the  Council  members  should  do 
all  in  their  power  for  the  cause,  but  whatever  work 
they  undertake  they  should  enter  as  ''Citizens"  and 
not  as ''Jews"  was  unanimously  adopted.  Hundreds 
of  the  Council  members  are  now  working  with  the 
Woman's  Service  League. 

The  Emanuel  Sisterhood,  of  which  Mrs.  Rebecca 
Kohut  is  president,  was  the  first  sisterhood  to  or- 
ganize a  neighborhood  settlement.     This  Sisterhood, 

440 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

located  on  the  East  Side  of  New  York,  is  composed  of 
poor  East  Side  women  who  are  recipients  of  pensions 
from  the  Emanuel  sisterhood.  Every  Monday,  Tues- 
day, Wednesday  and  Thursday,  finds  these  women 
arduously  working  for  the  cause.  They  sew,  knit, 
roll  bandages  and  give  whatever  help  they  can.  Ac- 
cording: to  Mrs.  Kohut,  the  regularity  with  which  they 
come,  the  many  hours  they  actually  steal  from  house- 
hold duties  to  lend  a  helping  hand  and  the  enthusiasm 
with  which  they  work  have  been  a  great  surprise  to 
the  organizers  of  the  movement. 

Miss  Pauline  Goldmark  is  an  active  worker  on  the 
Committee  of  Labor.  Dr.  Jessica  Pexiotta  is  chair- 
man of  the  Defense  Committee  of  San  Francisco. 
Annie  Nathan  Meyer  is  associated  with  the  Food 
Preservation  Committee  of  New  York  City.  Mrs. 
Daniel  Guggenheim  has  raised  over  half  a  million 
dollars  for  the  Liberty  Loan  Fund.  Miss  Sophie 
Berger  is  in  Europe  in  charge  of  a  unit  of  the  Red 
Cross  Committee,  in  charge  of  the  woman's  work. 
Mrs.  Rebecca  Kohut  is  chairman  of  the  Woman's 
Committee  of  Employment  on  National  Defense. 
This  is  sort  of  an  employment  clearing  house  whose 
purpose  is  the  mobilization  of  women  and  employees 
and  the  proper  shifting  of  women  into  men's  places 
in  the  various  industries.  This  organization  places 
at  the  rate  of  about  2,000  women  per  week  in  various 
positions;  about  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  this  number 
are  taking  the  places  of  men. 

Mrs.  Edwin  Vogel  opened  a  Red  Cross  factory  on 
the  Jersey  coast;  this  has  now  been  transferred  to 
New  York  City.  Over  150  women  were  employed 
there  during  the  summer  and  continue  work  during 

441 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

the  winter.  Up  to  date  they  have  already  made  more 
than  100,000  garments  for  the  soldiers. 

Mrs.  Sidney  Borg,  who  is  on  the  committee  for  the 
National  League  for  Woman  *s  Service,  is  taking  an 
active  part  in  the  social  welfare  work  among  girls. 
She  is  specially  fitted  for  this  work,  being  president 
of  the  Jewish  Big  Sisters. 

The  Joint  Distribution  Committee  of  the  Fund  for 
Jewish  War  Sufferers,  20  Exchange  Place,  New  York 
City,  comprises  the  three  Jewish  committees  collect- 
ing money  for  Jewish  war  relief — the  American 
Jewish  Relief  Committee,  the  Central  Committee 
for  the  Relief  of  Jews  suffering  through  the  war, 
and  the  People's  Committee.  This  organization  has 
disbursed  in  Europe  and  in  Palestine  more  than 
$8,000,000  for  the  relief  of  Jewish  war  sufferers.  A 
statement  from  this  Committee  is  as  follows:  *'The 
Jewish  Relief  Committees  have  raised  and  have  dis- 
bursed through  the  Joint  Distribution  Committee  a 
larger  sum  than  any  other  individual  relief  agencies, 
having  had  the  support  of  the  entire  American 
Jewry.'' 

The  Jewish  people  of  America  have,  through  or- 
ganizations, raised  handsome  sums  for  relief  work 
among  the  Jewish  war  sufferers  in  Europe.  A  New 
York  philanthropist  proposed  to  the  American  Jew- 
ish Relief  Committee  to  defray  the  entire  cost  to 
raise  a  fund  of  several  million  dollars  on  Yom  Kip- 
pur  in  the  Orthodox  Synagogues  in  the  country. 
Thus,  all  money  collected  as  a  result  of  this  movement 
will  be  used  for  the  relief  of  suffering.  In  order  to 
forward  the  movement,  a  speakers'  bureau  was  or- 
ganized, headed  by  Mr,  Nathan  Straus  and  George 

442 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

Otto  A,  Rosalsky.  Two  thousand  men  known  for 
their  eloquence  were  organized  into  a  speakers'  staff. 

The  Woman's  Proclamation  Society,  the  National 
Woman's  Organization  for  Jewish  War  Relief,  has 
branches  in  all  the  leading  cities  of  America  and  na- 
tional headquarters  at  203  Broadway,  New  York  City. 
This  committee  is  working  in  the  interest  of  the  ten 
million  dollar  fund  which  is  being  raised  among  the 
Jewish  people  of  America  for  war  relief.  The  com- 
mittee has  issued  for  the  benefit  of  the  fund  in  which 
it  is  interested  the  story  of  Lorena  Cohen,  of  ]\Iem- 
phis,  Tenn.,  who  was  one  of  a  few  young  women 
refugees  who  escaped  from  the  war  zone  early  in 
1917,  coming  from  Kovno,  in  Lithuania,  after  the 
German  occupation.  Miss  Cohen's  story  is  that  of 
an  eyewitness.  She  describes  the  frightful  scenes  of 
suffering,  starvation  and  death  to  be  encountered  on 
every  side  among  the  Jews  in  the  war  zone;  she  de- 
picts what  it  means  for  old  men  and  women  and 
children  to  be  compelled  to  flee  before  invading 
armies  without  raiment  sufficient  to  keep  out  the  cold, 
without  food  or  shelter — a  condition  which  confronts 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  Jews  in  Lithuania  and  mil- 
lions throughout  the  war  zone.  The  officers  of  the 
Woman's  Proclamation  Committee  are:  chairman, 
Mrs.  Samuel  Elkeles ;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Alfred  Blumen- 
thal;  executive  secretary,  Mrs.  Albert  Lucas. 

Hadassah  is  the  Women's  Zionist  organization  af- 
filiated with  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists. 
Its  work  in  war  is  chiefly  in  the  interest  of  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  system  of  district  visiting  nursing  in 
Palestine.  It  has  chapters  in  Baltimore,  Boston, 
Chattanooga,  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  Denver, 

443 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Detroit,  Jacksonville,  Kansas  City,  Los  Angeles,  New 
Brunswick,  New  London,  New  Rochelle,  New  York, 
Newark,  Norfolk,  Portsmouth,  Norwich,  Perth  Am- 
boy,  Philadelphia,  Portland,  Maine,  Providence,  Read- 
ing, Rochester,  St.  Paul,  Schenectady,  Syracuse, 
Worcester,  Youngstown.  Collections  for  the  Ameri- 
can Zionist  Medical  Unit  for  Palestine,  which  had 
reached  the  sum  of  $30,219.99,  were  interrupted,  as 
the  military  situation  in  Palestine  was  such  that  it 
was  impossible  to  secure  entry  into  the  country.  As 
soon  as  the  road  from  Egypt  to  Gaza  and  thence  from 
Jaffa  to  Jerusalem  is  opened,  operations  in  equipping 
this  unit  will  be  resumed.  Reports  are  several  months 
old  when  they  reach  the  American  office,  but  during 
the  last  months  of  1917  they  indicated  increased  mor- 
tality, dimished  resistance  to  disease  on  account  of 
starvation,  excessive  cost  of  drugs  and  food  when  they 
are  obtainable,  and  inadequate  medical  service.  The 
American  office  is  located  at  44  East  23d  Street,  New 
York  City.  The  chairman  is  Henrietta  Szold,  the 
treasurer  is  Sophia  Berger. 

The  Authors'  League  Fund  is  designed  to  aid,  in 
case  of  need,  those  engaged  in  literary,  artistic  or 
musical  composition.  No  profession  offers  more 
poignant  instances  of  suffering  than  that  of  arts  and 
letters.  All  too  frequently  the  creative  man  pays 
the  penalty  of  his  idealism.  For  the  most  part  he  is 
dependent  on  personal  daily  effort,  and  the  immedi- 
ate sale  of  his  work,  and  any  failure  of  his  market, 
any  change  in  economic  conditions  affects  him  in- 
stantly. He  has  no  stocks  and  bonds  to  furnish  an 
income  when  he  is  called  to  the  colors,  or  when  his 
health  fails. 

444 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

Thus  far  the  fund  has  been  able  to  care  for  most  of 
the  cases  that  have  come  to  it,  but  there  is  vital  need 
for  a  much  larger  fund  in  order  that  the  many  cases 
already  resulting  from  war  conditions  may  be  in- 
vestigated and  relieved.  All  deserving  cases,  whether 
within  the  membership  or  without  it,  are  carefully 
and  promptly  considered.  The  organization  attempts 
to  enroll  those  whose  sympathies  are  with  a  worthy 
craft,  some  of  whose  members  now  find  themselves 
in  need  of  a  friendly  hand  to  help  them  over  this 
period.  The  officers  are:  president,  Gertrude  Ather- 
ton;  first  vice  president,  George  Barr  Baker;  second 
vice  president,  Charles  Dana  Gibson;  treasurer,  Eric 
Schuler;  directors,  Gertrude  Atherton,  Irving 
Bacheller,  George  Barr  Baker,  Hex  Beach,  Ellis 
Parker  Butler,  Irvin  S.  Cobb,  John  Huston  Finley, 
Hamlin  Garland,  Charles  Dana  Gibson,  Rupert 
Hughes,  Will  Irwin,  Cleveland  Moffett,  Harvey 
O'Higgins,  Ignace  Paderewski,  Emily  Price  Post, 
Leroy  Scott,  Charles  Scribner,  Mrs.  James  Speyer, 
Julian  Street,  Roger  B.  Whitman,  Jesse  Lynch  Wil- 
liams, Mrs.  Payne  Whitney. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 
RELIEF  FOR  BELGIUM 

American  relief  work  for  Belgium — American  Com- 
mittee for  War  Charities  of  Queen  of  Belgium — Sou  du 
Mutile — Committee  for  Relief  of  Belgium — Prisoners 
in  Germany — Oeuvre  Beige  du  Lait  pour  les  Petits — La 
Sante  de  I'Enfance — Mayfair  War  Relief — Millicent 
Sutherland  Ambulance — King  Albert's  Civilian  Hos- 
pital Fund. 

Scarcely  had  brave  little  Belgium  entered  upon 
her  long  season  of  horror  and  hardship  before  Ameri- 
can women  were  planning  to  help  the  starving  women 
and  children  of  the  invaded  districts.  It  is  signifi- 
cant that  an  American  woman,  Mrs.  Vernon  Kellogg, 
of  California,  was  a  member  of  the  American  Com- 
mission for  Eelief  in  Belgium,  of  which  Mr.  Herbert 
Hoover  was  chairman.  Of  the  wonderful  work  done 
by  women  in  these  trying  days  in  starving  Belgium 
Mr.  Hoover  himself  said:  ''This  service  has  been 
given,  not  by  tens,  but  by  thousands,  and  it  is  a 
service  that  in  turn  has  summoned  a  devotion,  kindli- 
ness and  tenderness  in  the  Belgian  and  French  women 
that  has  welded  all  classes  with  the  spiritual  bond 
unknown  in  any  people  before.  It  has  implanted  in 
the  national  heart  and  the  national  character  a  qual- 
ity which  is  in  some  measure  a  compensation  for  the 
calamities  through  which  these  people  are  passing. 

446 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  soul  of  Belgium  received  a  grievous  wound,  but 
the  women  of  Belgium  are  stanching  the  flow — sus- 
taining and  leading  this  stricken  nation  to  greater 
strength  and  to  greater  life.'*  Of  America's  part  in 
the  great  work  of  relief  for  starving  Belgium  Mr. 
Hoover  said:  "The  pathos  of  the  long  lines  of  ex- 
pectant, chattering  mites,  each  with  a  ticket  of  au- 
thority pinned  to  its  chest  or  held  in  a  grimy  fist, 
never  depresses  the  mind  of  childhood.  In  this  work 
America  has  a  duty  and  the  women  of  America  a 
privilege. ' ' 

In  her  thrilling  story  of  how  the  women  of  Belgium 
turned  their  tragedies  to  triumph  Mrs.  Kellogg  has 
expressed  the  beautiful  spirit  of  woman's  service  and 
woman's  devotion.  How  American  women  have  ful- 
filled their  obligation  to  stricken  Belgium  is  told  in 
the  history  of  the  organizations  that  are  doing  relief 
work  for  Belgium. 

The  American  Committee  collecting  for  the  war 
charities  of  the  Queen  of  Belgium  was  formed  by 
American  sympathizers  to  assist  Queen  Elizabeth  of 
the  Belgians  in  her  w^ork  among  the  destitute  and 
stricken  people  of  that  oppressed  country.  The  com- 
mittee cooperates  with  the  War  Relief  Clearing  House 
for  France  and  her  Allies.  There  is  also  a  cooperat- 
ing committee  in  Paris  of  which  Mrs.  William  G. 
Sharp,  wife  of  the  American  ambassador,  is  honorary 
president.  American  Office,  360  Madison  Ave.,  New 
York  City. 

The  Sou  du  Mutile  is  one  of  the  most  important 
Belgian  relief  organizations  and  is  recognized  by  the 
Belgian  Government.  It  is  patronized  by  their  Majes- 
ties King  Albert  and  Queen  Elizabeth.     When  Mr. 

447 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Stalins  submitted  the  plan  for  this  organization  to  the 
Government  he  was  at  once  greatly  encouraged  by  the 
Belgian  Ministers  Vandervelde,  Carton  de  Wiart  and 
Poullet.  In  the  latter  part  of  1916,  one  of  the  great- 
est honors  that  may  be  conferred  upon  an  organization 
was  granted  to  the  Sou  du  Mutile.  M.  Poulet,  Bel- 
gian Minister  at  the  Hague,  at  the  request  of  M.  Schol- 
laert.  Minister  at  Havre,  in  charge  of  the  supervision 
of  the  war  relief  charities,  informed  the  committee 
that  the  Sou  du  Mutile  had  been  recognized  by  the 
Belgian  Government  as  of  public  utility  and  placed 
under  its  control. 

Of  the  work  one  of  the  officers  said :  * '  At  the  end 
of  the  war,  nearly  all  the  different  organizations  that 
are  now  collecting  funds  for  the  victims  of  this 
gigantic  struggle,  will  see  their  activities  ended.  Ee- 
garding  the  'Sou  du  Mutile/  it  is  quite  different  and 
the  real  task,  that  of  aiding  our  brave  mutilated, 
blinded  soldiers,  will  only  have  begun  for  us.  The 
principal  aim  of  the  Committee  is  to  furnish  these 
men  with  the  necessary  funds,  so  that  they  may  be 
able  to  start,  in  Belgium  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Government,  small  commercial  enterprises  which  will 
enable  them  to  earn  again  their  living.  The  neces- 
sarily small  allowance  given  them  by  the  Govern- 
ment would,  indeed,  be  insufficient  for  their  support 
and  that  of  their  families.  You  see  thus  that  the  Sou 
du  Mutile  will  prove  an  extremely  great  help  in  the 
reestablishment  of  ordinary  living  of  our  maimed 
soldiers. ' ' 

The  Sou  du  Mutile  has  been  placed  in  New  York 
under  the  auspices  of  M.  Pierre  Moli,  Belgian  Con- 
sul General,  and  Rev.  J.  F.  Stillemans,  president  of 

448 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

the  Belgian  Relief  Fund  and  director  of  the  Belgian 
Bureau. 

The  U.  S.  A.  Section  of  Committee  for  Relief  of 
Belgian  Prisoners  in  Germany,  360  Madison  Ave., 
New  York  City,  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
relief  organizations  of  America.  Entirely  upon  the 
activities  of  this  organization  depend  the  lives  of 
more  than  40,000  Belgian  prisoners  of  war  who  are 
in  danger  of  starving  and  freezing  to  death.  They 
cannot  receive  either  messages  or  food  or  clothing 
from  their  families  or  homes,  and  these  must  be  sup- 
plied through  the  Committee,  which,  upon  request, 
supplies  any  contributor  with  the  name  of  a  pris- 
oner and  on  behalf  of  that  person  will  send  parcels 
regularly  to  the  prisoner,  undertaking  to  see  that 
he  receives  the  parcel  safely.  The  name  of  a  pris- 
oner for  adoption  will  be  furnished  upon  applica- 
tion. Up  to  June,  1917,  receipts  for  the  Belgian 
prisoners  amounted  to  2,500,000  francs.  The  Com- 
mittee requires  650,000  francs  each  month  to  supply 
food  and  clothing  to  these  prisoners.  The  American 
Committee  consists  of  Mrs.  William  Astor  Chanler, 
Mrs.  W.  Corcoran  Eustis,  Mrs.  J.  Borden  Harriman, 
Mrs.  Pierre  JMali,  Mrs.  Walter  E.  Maynard,  Hon. 
Louis  de  Sadeleer,  Mrs.  W.  Douglas  Sloane,  Mrs.  W. 
Payne  Thompson,  Mrs.  Fiske  Warren,  Mrs.  H.  Fish 
Webster,  Miss  Maude  K.  Wetmore,  and  Mrs.  E.  Whar- 
ton. 

Besides  the  meritorious  work  of  the  American  Aid 
for  Homeless  Belgian  Children,  which  aims  particu- 
larly to  help  Belgian  children  in  France,  two  other 
institutions  have  been  started  since  1916  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  children  of  invaded  Belgium. 

449 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WATt 

After  the  sacrilegious  invasion  of  Belgium,  seven 
million  people  were  captives  in  their  own  country 
under  the  most  barbarian  rule.  According  to  official 
information,  conditions  among  the  Belgian  popula- 
tion were  getting  desperate,  a  great  number  of  the 
poorer  classes  dying  of  privation  and  lack  of  proper 
nourishment.  Among  them  were  more  than  one  mil- 
lion little  children,  greatly  debilitated  on  account  of 
lack  of  food,  and  the  death  rate  among  them  increased 
appallingly. 

These  two  institutions  are  doing  wonderful  work 
and  are  highly  patronized  by  the  Belgian  Govern- 
ment; one,  the  Oeuvre  Beige  du  Lait  pour  les  Petits 
(Milk  for  the  Belgian  Babies)  has  its  headquarters 
in  Antwerp ;  the  other,  La  Sante  de  VEnfance  (Health 
of  the  Children),  in  Brussels. 

Both  have  a  committee  in  Holland,  where  they  are 
sending  the  most  affected  children  for  a  vacation  of 
three  or  four  weeks,  this  in  accordance  with  an  agree- 
ment made  with  the  Dutch  authorities  and  the  Ger- 
man Governor  of  Invaded  Belgium. 

The  most  important  work  is  done  in  Belgium,  where 
branches  of  the  committees  have  been  created  in  the 
largest  cities  and  towns,  to  take  care  of  the  children 
at  home.  Besides  this,  '* special  homes"  have  been 
organized  in  the  healthiest  parts  of  the  country, 
where  the  children  are  sent  for  a  vacation  and  a  pe- 
riod of  proper  nourishment. 

Both  are  patronized  by  the  Belgian  Legation  at 
Washington,  the  Belgian  Consuls  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  Hon.  L.  de  Sadeleer,  Belgian  Minister 
of  State,  residing  in  New  York.  Assistance  has  been 
given  to  these  institutions  by  many  Americans,  by 

450 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

the  Belgian  Relief  Committee  of  the  Emergency  Aid 
of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  by  the  Belgian  Relief  Commit- 
tee of  New  York,  etc.  Miss  Marie-Louise  de  Sadeleer, 
daughter  of  the  Belgian  Minister  of  State,  has  ren- 
dered a  valuable  service  by  forwarding  all  donations 
to  the  directors  of  the  Oeuvre  Beige  die  Lait  pour  les 
Petit s  and  La  Sante  de  I'Enfance,  through  the 
courtesy  of  His  Excellency  the  Honorable  Prosper 
Poullet,  Minister  of  Science  and  Fine  Arts  of  Bel- 
gium, who  has  a  permanent  office  at  The  Hague,  Hol- 
land. All  gifts  reach  these  institutions  in  full,  no 
expenses  being  deducted  therefrom. 

Miss  Marie-Louise  de  Sadeleer  may  be  addressed 
c/o  Belgian  Consulate,  25  Madison  Avenue,  New 
York,  N.  Y. 

The  Mayfair  War  Relief,  657  Fifth  Ave.,  New 
York  City,  was  organized  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  to  supply  relief  to  the  Belgian  refugees,  but  its 
activities  have  since  been  expanded,  and  during  1916 
and  1917  several  hundred  thousand  articles  have  been 
sent  to  the  hospitals  abroad.  There  are  forty-two 
sustaining  members  who  support  a  guaranteed  fund 
which  covers  current  expenses.  There  are  a  number 
of  sub-committees  established  throughout  the  country, 
and  the  special  package  department  has  become  of 
large  importance  to  the  friends  and  relatives  of  French 
and  Belgian  soldiers,  their  neglected  families  and  the 
refugees  from  evacuated  regions.  The  Bo}^  Comrade 
Service  handles  correspondence  from  more  than  1,800 
American  boys  with  French,  Belgian  and  British  sol- 
diers. 

Approximately  $150,000  has  been  raised  in  the 
United   States  for  the  support  of  the  hospital  es- 

451 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

tablished  by  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland  during  the 
early  part  of  the  invasion  of  Belgium,  later  taken  over 
by  the  Red  Cross  with  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland  in 
charge.  This  is  known  as  the  Millicent  Sutherland 
Ambulance.  Mrs.  Benjamin  Guinness  is  Chairman 
for  the  American  Committee.  American  office,  No.  8 
Washington  Square,  North,  New  York  City. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Gaskell  Norton  and  Miss  Sara  Nor- 
ton, of  Boston,  have,  without  the  formation  of  an 
American  committee,  sent  funds  to  the  British  Sec- 
tion of  the  Belgian  Official  Committee  of  Help  for 
Refugees  in  France,  which  charity  is  for  the  King 
Albert's  Civilian  Hospital  Fund  of  Belgium.  The 
object  of  the  Fund  is  to  assist  Belgium  maternity 
homes  and  creches.  Many  garments  and  other  sup- 
plies have  been  forwarded  for  this  purpose,  includ- 
ing $1,100  realized  from  a  booth  conducted  by  these 
young  ladies  at  the  Allied  Bazaar  of  Boston. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

RELIEF  WORK  IN  FRANCE 

American  Women  who  have  given  generously  of  their 
time  and  means — What  the  American  Canteen  means 
to  the  soldiers — American  Relief  Clearing  House — War 
Relief  Clearing  House  for  France  and  her  Allies — 
American  Ambulance  Hospital  in  Paris — Committee 
for  Training  Maimed  Soldiers — Edith  Wharton's  war 
charities — Le  Paquet  du  Soldat. 

It  is  said  that  there  is  not  a  single  canteen  in 
France,  of  all  the  long  line  of  rest  and  refreshment 
stations,  ^vhere  the  American  and  French  Red  Cross 
are  united,  where  somebody's  genius  for  home-making 
is  not  bringing  an  unexpected  bit  of  comfort  or 
beauty.  And  wherever  this  home  spirit  is  expressed 
its  influence  is  immediately  and  widely  felt.  ''There 
is  a  canteen  where  an  American  woman  has  planted  a 
flower  bed  along  a  munition  factory  wall,'*  says 
Marion  Bonsall  Davis;  "and  here  is  another  where 
a  French  soldier  left  a  book  for  his  comrades  to  write 
or  draw  sudden  inspiration ;  in  this  are  found 
tributes  to  lost  comrades  and  touching  stories  of 
great  sacrifices — it  is  a  book  which  may  help  future 
generations  of  France  to  love  and  understand  this 
generation.  Here  is  still  another  canteen  where  a 
woman  worker  has  made  a  shelf  for  children's  toys 
for  small  visitors.  And  here,  at  a  great  railroad  sta- 
tion  where   the   troop   trains   start   for   the   front, 

453 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Madame  Courgol  takes  the  flowers  or  the  lovely  weeds 
and  grasses  which  have  been  decorating  her  refresh- 
ment truck  and  fastens  them  high  and  jauntily  to  the 
end  of  the  train  just  before  it  moves  out — the  field 
flowers,  and  the  lilies  and  the  flag  of  France,  for 
which  men  give  their  lives." 

Many  American  women  who  were  living  abroad 
when  war  was  declared  are  volunteers  in  the  Red 
Cross  canteen  service.  The  nearer  they  are  to  the 
front  line  and  the  more  frequently  their  sheds  or 
their  cellars  or  their  dugouts  are  bombarded,  the  more 
tenderly  do  they  hang  green  branches  to  the  door, 
festoon  the  ceiling  with  bright  colors  or  tack  some 
heartening  picture  on  the  blank  wall. 

In  Paris  the  Woman's  War  Relief  Corps  was  or- 
ganized in  the  fall  of  1917  under  the  presidency  of 
Mrs.  Sharp,  wife  of  the  United  States  Ambassador, 
and  many  American  women  are  prominently  identi- 
fied with  the  work,  which  is  mentioned  in  another 
chapter. 

Madame  Waddington  is  chairman  of  the  advisory 
board  and  Mrs.  E.  W.  Bliss  is  chairman  of  the  execu- 
tive committee.  Among  those  on  the  board  of  di- 
rectors are :  Mrs.  Edith  Wharton,  Mrs.  Shurtleff,  who 
has  long  been  identified  with  relief  work  in  Paris, 
Mrs.  W.  K.  Vanderbilt,  who  has  done  so  much  in 
connection  with  the  American  Ambulance,  Miss  Es- 
ther Cleveland,  Mrs.  George  Monroe,  who  has  charge 
of  the  auxiliary  nurses,  and  many  other  well-known 
of  the  Red  Cross  circles  and  Mrs.  Bradley,  wife  of 
Colonel  Bradley  of  General  Pershing's  Staff,  is  at  the 
head  of  the  Woman's  Auxiliary  Committee  of  the 
American  Red  Cross  Military  Hospital. 

454 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

Mrs.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Jr.,  works  regularly  in 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Canteen.  Mrs.  Whitlaw  Reid,  Mrs. 
Kermit  Roosevelt  and  her  mother,  and  Mrs.  Willard 
are  also  interested  in  war  work  in  Paris.  Mrs. 
Vincent  Astor  has  interested  herself  in  canteen  work, 
and  Mrs.  W.  K.  Vanderbilt  and  Miss  Elsie  De  Wolfe 
are  helping  the  Red  Cross. 

Among  other  well-known  American  women  who 
are  active  in  relief  work  in  France  may  be  men- 
tioned Mrs.  Willard,  Mrs.  Vanderbilt,  ^Irs.  Edith 
Wharton,  ]\Irs.  Shurtleff  and  Mrs.  Benjamin  Gi- 
rault  Lathrop,  chairman  of  the  Paris  depot  of 
the  American  Fund  for  French  Wounded.  Mrs. 
Lathrop  has  done  an  especially  beautiful  w^ork  amid 
many  difficulties  and  at  the  cost  of  great  personal 
sacrifice.  She  worked  early  and  late,  sick  and  well, 
at  home  and  in  the  office.  She  went  constantly  be- 
tween Paris  and  London,  and  at  the  latter  place  one 
of  her  young  daughters  was  in  frail  health.  It  was 
said  that  the  tremendous  growth  and  superb  service 
of  the  American  Fund  for  French  Wounded  was 
largely  because  Mrs.  Lathrop  had  a  genius  for 
the  personal  touch  in  things.  Miss  Vail,  treas- 
urer of  the  same  organization,  a  relative  of  Mrs. 
Schuyler  Van  Rensselaer  and  a  gifted  woman,  has 
also  given  unstintingly  of  herself  to  the  cause  of  suf- 
fering France.  Miss  Adeline  Gracie,  also  lavish  in 
her  expenditure  of  time  and  means,  of  strength  and 
spirit,  made  her  canteen  an  unforgettable  thing  to  the 
men  who  passed  her  way.  She  is  a  sister  of  the  late 
Colonel  Archibald  Gracie.  Miss  Gracie  w^as  at  work 
on  the  field  so  early,  and  her  service  was  such  a  beauti- 
ful one,  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  record  even  this  slight 

455 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

recognition  of  her  work.  Miss  Mabel  Davison  has 
worked  unceasingly  to  help  the  blind,  both  in  the 
government  institution  and  at  Miss  Holt's  famous 
Light  House.  Miss  Davison  held  the  light  for  many 
stumbling  feet  over  there  in  blood-stained  France, 
and  perhaps  no  individual  has  brought  more  comfort 
and  more  cheer  to  the  desperate  and  the  hopeless 
than  she. 

France  came  to  the  aid  of  America  in  the  gravest 
crisis  of  her  history,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that,  early  in  the  war,  France  became  the  object  of 
tenderest  solicitude  to  American  women.  The  record 
of  suffering  alleviated  and  of  faith  sustained  will 
never  be  written.  By  the  end  of  1917  there  were 
something  like  thirty  organizations  and  branch  or- 
ganizations in  America  doing  war  relief  work  for 
France. 

Early  in  the  war  there  was  formed  in  France  under 
the  sanction  of  the  French  Government  the  Ameri- 
can Relief  Clearing  House,  with  the  Honorable  Robert 
Bacon  as  honorary  president,  and  Mr.  H.  H.  Harjes 
as  president,  with  the  object,  among  others,  of  re- 
ceiving and  properly  distributing  contributions  for 
the  relief  of  sufferers  of  France  and  her  allies.  For 
the  purpose  of  cooperating  with  this  movement  in 
France  a  complementary  association  was  formed  in 
America  under  the  name  of  War  Relief  Clearing 
House  for  France  and  her  allies.  This  organization, 
working  in  close  affiliation  with  the  one  in  France 
which  is  recognized  by  the  French  Government  as  an 
official  representative  in  France  of  the  distribution 
of  American  charity,  has  forwarded  more  than  88,000 
cases  of  relief  supplies,  valued  in  excess  of  $6,000,000, 

456 


WAR  KELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

and  has  received  more  than  $1,632,000  in  cash.  It 
is  in  touch  with  more  than  5,000  relief  organizations, 
societies,  schools,  churches,  clubs,  and  groups  of  indi- 
viduals located  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States, 
Canada,  Hawaiian  Islands,  Cuba,  Bermuda,  etc.,  in 
no  sense  supplanting  these  organizations  but  lending 
them  its  exceptional  facilities,  free  of  charge,  in  order 
that  the  charitable  work  going  on  in  this  country  may 
not  suffer  from  duplication,  inefficiency  or  wasted 
effort. 

The  War  Relief  Clearing  House  for  France  and  Her 
Allies  has  its  executive  offices  at  No.  40  Wall  Street, 
New  York  City,  and  its  warehouses  are  located  at  No. 
124  Charlton  Street,  New  York  City.  Ur.  Clyde  H. 
Pratt  is  executive  secretary.  The  organization  gives 
its  services  and  information  free  to  all  contributors, 
is  kept  reliably  informed  as  to  what  form  of  relief 
is  most  needed  and  where,  and  disseminates  such  in- 
formation to  affiliated  organizations  in  America.  It 
also  acts  as  a  purchasing  and  forwarding  agent  for 
organizations  and  individuals  wishing  to  contribute 
funds  or  supplies,  thereby  giving  contributors  the 
benefit  of  its  exceptional  prices.  It  obtains  free  ship- 
ment, with  few  exceptions,  for  contributions  from 
New  York  to  the  designated  destination  in  Europe. 
It  enters  contributions  of  supplies  into  ports  of  the 
allied  countries,  free  of  customs  duties,  and  is  given 
free  transportation  for  supplies  over  the  French  and 
Italian  railroads.  It  delivers  supplies  where  they 
are  the  most  needed  by  the  quickest  and  surest  route 
and  makes  no  charge  for  its  services.  All  contribu- 
tions for  relief  are  delivered  intact,  without  deduc- 
tions for  operating  expenses.     Practically  all  of  the 

457 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

organizations  doing  relief  work  in  France  are  operat- 
ing through  the  War  Clearing  House. 

One  of  the  most  notable  of  the  war  charities  for 
France  is  the  American  Ambulance  Hospital  in  Paris, 
which  has  won  world-wide  fame.  Its  headquarters 
are  at  No.  14  Wall  Street,  New  York  City.  Since 
it  was  organized  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  work 
of  the  institution  has  steadily  increased,  and  more 
than  1,500  patients  are  treated  every  day  at  its  main 
and  auxiliary  hospitals.  The  ambulance  service  has 
grown  until  more  than  250  ambulances  are  on  duty 
in  Paris  and  at  the  front.  The  cost  of  inaugurating 
and  maintaining  this  splendid  work  is  borne  entirely 
by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  Americans  who 
have  chosen  this  method  of  expressing  their  coun- 
try's gratitude  and  friendship  for  the  French  people. 
During  a  single  year  over  5,100  cases  of  acute  surgery 
were  treated  in  the  hospitals  at  Neuilly  and  at  Juilly, 
and  in  the  Field  Hospital,  and  over  135,000  patients 
were  transported  by  the  motor  ambulances  in  the 
entrenched  Camp  of  Paris  and  in  the  field.  These 
figures,  although  imposing,  can  by  no  means  be  taken 
as  a  measure  of  the  work  accomplished.  Large  quan- 
tities of  dressings,  hospital  supplies,  clothing,  etc., 
specially  donated  for  the  purpose,  have  been  dis- 
tributed, and  in  emergency  much  surgical  and  med- 
ical relief  has  been  given  to  the  civil  population. 
But  perhaps  not  the  least  achievement  of  the  Ameri- 
can Ambulance  has  been  to  bring  to  almost  every 
town  and  village  of  France,  through  the  wounded, 
their  families,  and  their  friends,  a  lasting  apprecia- 
tion of  the  profound  sympathy  of  the  American  peo- 
ple for  France  and  for  her  heroic  soldiers. 

458 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

The  Hospital  is  a  recognized  center  for  severe, 
complicated  fractures,  for  nerve  injuries  requiring  the 
most  delicate  surgical  procedures,  and  for  the  dis- 
tressing injuries  and  disfigurements  of  the  face  and 
jaws.  The  reputation  of  the  Hospital  in  these  par- 
ticular directions  has  grown  steadily,  and  this  reputa- 
tion has  brought  many  distinguished  surgeons,  as 
visitors,  from  all  countries  of  the  world. 

In  all  of  the  wonderful  work  done  by  this  institu- 
tion, women  have  had  a  conspicuous  and  a  vital  part. 
Mrs.  W.  K.  Vanderbilt  and  Mrs.  Henry  Payne  Whit- 
ney are  on  the  Board  of  Governors  of  the  American 
Hospital  in  Paris  and  the  American  Committee  con- 
sists of  the  following: 

New  York,  Mrs.  Robert  Bacon,  chairman,  Mrs.  C. 
B.  Alexander,  Mrs.  Frederick  0.  Beach,  Mrs.  August 
Belmont,  Mrs.  S.  R.  Bertron,  Mrs.  Henry  P.  Davison, 
Mrs.  William  Greenough,  Mrs.  E.  H.  Harriman,  Mrs. 
A.  Barton  Hepburn,  Mrs.  Henry  AY.  ]\Iunroe,  Mrs.  H. 
Fairfield  Osborn,  Mrs.  Whitelaw  Reid,  Mrs.  Herbert 
L.  Satterlee,  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Sherrill,  Mrs.  Willard 
D.  Straight,  Mrs.  Edward  M.  Townsend,  IMrs.  W.  K. 
Yanderbilt,  Mrs.  Whitney  Warren,  Mrs.  Alexander 
S.  Webb,  Mrs.  Henry  Payne  Whitney;  and  ^liss  Elsie 
Nicoll,  chairman  Junior  Committee;  Albany,  Mrs. 
Wm.  Bayard  Yan  Rensselaer;  Boston,  Mrs.  Edward 
Brandegee,  Mrs.  Barrett  Wendell,  Mrs.  J.  ]\rontgom- 
ery  Sears,  Mrs.  Bayard  Thayer,  Mrs.  Sturgis  Loth- 
rop ;  Cleveland,  Mrs.  Myron  T.  Herrick,  Mrs.  Parmel 
W.  Herrick,  Mrs.  Dudley  P.  Allen;  Chicago,  ]\Irs. 
Bryan  Lathrop,  Mrs.  Russel  Tyson;  Detroit,  Mrs. 
Charles  A.  Coolidge;  Erie,  Pa.,  Mrs.  F.  L.  Chapin; 
Petersburg,  Ya.,  Miss  Helen  Cameron;  Princeton,  N. 

459 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

J.,  Mrs.  Junius  S.  Morgan ;  Philadelphia,  Mrs.  George 
Wharton  Pepper,  Mrs.  J.  William  White;  Pittsburg, 
Mrs.  William  Reed  Thompson;  Providence,  Mrs.  F. 
A.  Sayles;  St.  Louis,  Mrs.  George  A.  Castleman,  Mrs. 
Stanley  Stoner ;  San  Francisco,  Mrs.  Francis  Carolan ; 
Troy,  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Francis ;  William  R.  Hereford, 
executive  secretary,  Hugh  S.  Bird,  financial  secre- 
tary. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  of  a  total  of  3,107 
patients  received  in  twelve  months,  ending  August 
31,  1917,  there  were  but  72  deaths,  making  a  death 
rate  of  2.31  per  cent,  or  approximately  one-half  of 
the  death  rate  during  the  previous  year  of  the  hos- 
pital. Several  hundred  Americans  have  been  in  ac- 
tive service  as  volunteer  ambulance  drivers. 

The  American  Committee  for  Training  in  Suitable 
Trades  the  Maimed  Soldiers  of  France,  Mrs.  Edmund 
L.  Baylies,  chairman,  was  formed  in  February,  1916. 
This  is  the  American  branch  of  the  Union  des 
Colonies  Etrangeres  en  France  en  Favour  des  Vic- 
times  de  la  Guerre.  It  has  established  the  following 
schools:  Grand  Palais,  Champ  Elysees,  Paris,  where, 
in  a  building  donated  by  the  French  Government, 
over  three  hundred  men  are  being  trained;  No.  28, 
Quai  Debilly,  Paris,  a  large  private  dwelling  house 
given  by  its  owner,  where  100  maimed  soldiers  are 
lodged,  fed  and  trained ;  and  Maison  Blanche,  Neuilly 
sur  Marne  (8  miles  from  Paris),  founded  and  main- 
tained by  the  gift  of  Mr.  Edward  T.  Stotesbury,  of 
Philadelphia,  amounting  to  over  $75,000,  where  over 
500  maimed  soldiers  are  being  trained.  The  French 
Committee  has  found  situations  for  several  hundred 
graduates  from  these  American  Trade  Schools,  where 

460 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

in  less  than  two  years  more  than  2,000  maimed  sol- 
diers were  trained.  All  money  is  disbursed  in  France 
under  the  personal  direction  of  a  committee  of  the 
Union  des  Colonies  Etrangeres. 

The  French  Government  asked  the  co<)peration  of 
the  American  Committee  in  order  to  establish  agri- 
cultural schools  for  the  maimed  peasants.  The  peas- 
ants of  France  are  bearing  the  heaviest  burden  of 
this  great  war — over  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  French 
being  drawn  from  the  rural  population.  In  the  in- 
vaded districts,  notwithstanding  the  admirable  elYorts 
of  the  women  to  replace  the  men  at  the  front,  farms 
were  necessarily  neglected.  Two  extensive  farms 
were  offered  to  the  American  Committee  with  the 
approval  of  the  French  Government.  One  of  these  is 
at  Juvisy  (15  miles  from  Paris),  where  $-iO,000  were 
required  to  equip  the  farm  to  teach  the  various  agri- 
cultural branches,  such  as  the  use  of  agricultural 
machinery,  market  gardening,  horticulture,  forestry, 
poultry  farming,  dairying,  etc.  Over  300  maimed 
men  are  being  trained  at  this  farm.  The  other  farm 
is  at  Tryoes  (100  miles  southeast  of  Paris),  where 
$10,000  were  required  to  provide  instructors,  imple- 
ments, etc.,  the  authorities  having  provided  every- 
thing else  necessary.  The  American  Committee 
assumed  responsibility  for  these  two  farms  which  will 
become  self-supporting  and  will  be  continued  after 
the  war.  The  executive  committee  of  the  organiza- 
tion consists  of  Mrs.  Charles  B.  Alexander,  Mrs.  Og- 
den  Mills,  Mrs.  William  Douglas  Sloane,  Mrs.  Corne- 
lius Vanderbilt,  Hon.  Myron  T.  Herrick,  Hon.  J.  W. 
Riddle,  Mr.  Edmund  L.  Bayliss,  and  Mr.  IMoncure 
Robinson.     The  total  amount  of  the  fund  to  Janu- 

461 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ary,  1918,  was  $315,530.19.     American  Headquarters, 
Room  134,  Biltmore  Hotel,  New  York  City. 

Edith  Wharton's  war  charities  in  France  consist 
of  the  American  Hostels  for  Refugees,  founded  in 
November,  1914,  with  Mrs.  Wharton  as  President, 
and  the  Children  of  Flanders  Rescue  Committee 
founded  by  Mrs.  Wharton  in  April,  1915,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Belgium  Government.  The  American 
Hospitals  for  Refugees  give  permanent  care  to  about 
3,500  refugees,  chiefly  French  women,  children,  and 
sick  and  infirm  people  who  cannot  earn  a  living. 
Most  of  the  refugees  were  in  extreme  poverty,  living 
huddled  together  in  miserable  lodgings.  Mrs.  Whar- 
ton started  a  fund  which  maintains  three  large  lodg- 
ing houses,  two  restaurants,  serving  over  600  meals  a 
day,  an  employment  agency,  a  large  workroom  for 
women,  a  day  nursery,  a  clothing  depot,  a  coal  depot, 
a  grocery  depot,  a  free  clinic,  a  dispensary,  district 
visitors,  two  hospitals  (100  beds)  at  Groslay,  near 
Paris,  one  resthouse  for  30  people  in  Paris,  and  one 
of  30  beds  for  anemic  and  tubercular  children  at 
Arromanchesm,  in  Normandy.  In  less  than  three 
years  after  it  was  established  the  hostels  had  provided 
for  more  than  14,000  refugees,  of  whom  12,000  needed 
and  received  medical  aid;  found  employment  for 
more  than  6,000  men  and  women;  distributed  more 
than  100,000  garments ;  and  served  at  a  nominal  cost 
more  than  300,000  meals. 

The  Children  of  Flanders  Rescue  Committee  boards, 
lodges,  clothes,  and  cares  for  over  700  children  from 
the  bombarded  towns  of  Western  Flanders,  about  200 
infirm  old  men  and  women,  with  the  Flemish  sisters 
who  care  for  them.    Some  of  the  children  were  in 

462 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

orphanages;  others  were  picked  up  in  ruined  villages 
or  abandoned  farms.  One  baby  of  twenty  months 
had  been  living,  for  five  days,  alone  and  without  food 
in  a  bam ;  two  others,  a  little  older,  were  taken  from 
the  arms  of  their  dead  father,  killed  by  a  shell  while 
he  was  escaping  with  them.  After  they  had  been  in 
Paris  for  a  little  while,  twelve  of  the  older  children 
were  told,  as  a  lesson,  to  draw  a  house  from  memory. 
Ten  out  of  the  twelve  drew  a  house  in  flames.  These 
children  were  soon  happy  and  contented  and  were 
taught  by  the  Belgian  nuns. 

These  Flemish  committees  were  established  in  six 
large  houses  as  follows:  Le  Chateau  Vieux,  rue 
Saint-Denis,  St.  Ouen;  Ville  Bethanie,  Montsoult 
(Seine-et-Oise)  ;  Villa  Saillet  and  Villa  les  Bergeries, 
Arromanches  (Calvados)  ;  Ecole  Brazillier;  Sevres, 
67,  rue  De  la  Sante,  Paris.  There  are  two  lace 
schools,  one  at  Sevres  and  one  at  St.  Ouen,  where  lace 
making  is  taught  to  the  older  girls  according  to  the 
methods  of  the  celebrated  Ecole  Normale  of  Bruges. 
With  utmost  economy  it  costs  $9,250  a  month  to 
maintain  the  hostels  and  hospitals,  and  $1,800  a  month 
for  the  children  of  Flanders,  making  a  total  of  $11,- 
050.  Mrs.  Wharton's  fellow  countrymen  in  Paris 
helped  her  generously  with  their  money,  and  the 
French  Government  expressed  its  sense  of  the  value 
of  her  work  by  decorating  her  with  the  Cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor — a  distinction  rarely  given  to 
women.  But  much  of  her  help  came  from  her  own 
country.  Mrs.  Cadwalader  Jones,  is  chairman  of  the 
New  York  Committee,  which  consists  of  ^Mrs.  Henry 
W.  Munroe,  treasurer;  Miss  Pauline  Riggs,  secretary; 
Miss  Janetta  Alexander,  llrs.  Gordon  Knox  Bell,  Mrs. 

463 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Cortlandt  Field  Bishop,  Mrs.  William  Adams  Delano, 
Mrs.  J.  Lloyd  Derby,  Mrs.  Richard  Derby,  Mrs. 
Arthur  Murray  Dodge,  Mrs.  McDougall  Hawkes,  Mrs. 
William  Bayard  Cutting,  Mrs.  William  Pierson  Ham- 
ilton, Mrs.  Adrian  Iselin,  Mrs.  Henry  James,  ]\Iiss 
Luisita  Leland,  Mr.  Clement  March,  Mr.  Walter 
Maynard,  Mrs.  Walter  Maynard,  Mrs.  John  James 
Kane,  Mr.  Philip  J.  Roosevelt,  Mrs.  Charles  Scribner, 
Mr.  George  Palen  Snow,  Miss  Robinson  Smith,  Mrs. 
Willard  Straight,  Mrs.  George  Whitney,  Mrs.  Wliit- 
ridge,  and  Mrs.  Linsley  R.  Williams.  There  are  also 
committees  in  Boston  and  in  Montclair,  New  Jersey. 
American  Committee,  21  East  11th  St.,  New  York  City. 
Le  Paquet  du  Soldat  has  American  headquarters  at 
56  Reade  St.,  New  York  City.  Its  executive  com- 
mittee consists  of:  president,  Madame  Eugene 
Maloubier;  vice  president,  Madame  Emmanuel  Jones- 
soff;  recording  secretary.  Miss  Lucy  F.  Mohan;  cor- 
responding secretary.  Miss  Helen  Dunn;  French  sec- 
retary, Mile.  Cecile  Debouy;  purchasing  agent,  Miss 
Byrd  W.  Hamblen.  ]\Iiss  Frances  Clement  is  chair- 
man of  the  Committee  of  Le  Paquet  de  rOrphelin, 
and  associated  with  her  are  Mile.  Marie  Louise  Raoux 
and  Miss  Elizabeth  Goldsmith.  The  personnel  of 
other  committees  is  as  follows:  Committee  of  Le 
Paquet  de  VEdpital,  Mile.  Yiolette  E.  Scharff 
chairman;  associated  with  Mile.  Scharff  are  Mile. 
Julie  E.  Cappelle  and  Mile.  Louise  Guebin;  chair- 
man of  the  Shipping  Committee  is  Miss  Olive 
Lewis,  and  associated  with  her  are  Madame  Thial- 
lier  and  Mr.  Jean  Bazerque;  members  of  the 
Finance  Committee  are  Mr.  Andrew  Bume,  Miss 
Jessie  Colvin  and  Miss  Edith  Putnam.    The  organi- 

464 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

zation  is  particularly  interested  during  the  war  in 
finding  godmothers  and  godfathers  for  the  orphaned 
children  of  France,  and  each  month  a  substantial 
draft  goes  to  the  branch  organization  in  IMontbeliard. 
After  the  war  the  work  will  be  devoted  to  caring  for 
the  orphans.  The  Committee  is  providing  packages 
for  American  soldiers,  and  half  of  the  fund  realized 
from  the  booth  at  the  Allied  Bazaar  of  November, 
1917,  was  used  for  tobacco  kits  for  American  soldiers 
in  France. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

RELIEF  FOR  FRANCE 

American  Fund  for  French  Wounded — Funds  for 
Heroes  of  France  and  her  Allies — French  Heroes  Fund 
— Blind  Relief  Fund — Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts — Union 
des  Arts — Comite  Franco- Americain — American  Girls 
Aid — Fatherless  Children  of  France — American  Dis- 
tributing Service — War  Babies'  Cradle — Children's 
Fund  for  Kiddies'  Kits — Relief  for  Liberated  Villages 
of  France. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  organizations  in 
America  which  is  devoted  to  French  relief  is  the 
American  Fund  for  French  Wounded,  which  was 
established  in  November,  1914,  in  London,  under  the 
name  of  the  French  Wounded  Emergency  Fund. 
The  present  organization  was  formed  in  December, 
1915,  and  the  first  work  of  relief  was  in  Normandy 
and  Brittany.  There  are  more  than  500  branch  com- 
mittees, and  up  to  the  fall  of  1917  more  than  15,- 
000,000  separate  articles  had  been  shipped  abroad, 
and  a  sum  approximating  $1,000,000  had  been  ex- 
pended. The  organization  exists  in  practically  every 
state  in  the  Union,  the  principal  branches  being  the 
New  England  branch  in  Boston,  and  those  in  New 
York,  Chicago,  San  Francisco  and  Baltimore.  Each 
branch  has  more  than  25  committees  working  un- 
der it.    The  Paris   depot  has   14  departments   dis- 

466 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

tributiiig  its  supplies.  The  headquarters  are  at  122 
Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City.  Mrs.  Ethelbert 
Nevin  is  chairman,  Mrs.  Lewis  B.  Stillwell  is  chair- 
man of  the  executive  committee,  Mrs.  Benjamin 
Girault  Lathrop  is  president,  Miss  Ann  Morgan,  treas- 
urer, Charles  Butler,  vice  president,  and  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Scarborough,  secretary,  Miss  Elizabeth  Perkins, 
chairman  of  publicity. 

The  original  work  of  the  American  Fund  for  French 
Wounded  was  confined  to  sending  supplies  to  the  emer- 
gency hospitals  in  France,  which  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war  were  inadequately  furnished.  After  three 
years  the  French  have  their  methods  for  caring  for 
the  wounded  well  organized,  but  each  month  longer 
that  the  war  lasts  the  demand  for  hospital  supplies 
grows  greater.  With  nine  hundred  thousand  hospital 
beds  in  France  continually  in  use,  when  only  the 
French  army  was  being  considered,  the  number  now 
is  greatly  augmented  and  many  a  French  hospital  will 
care  for  an  American  soldier. 

The  Civilian  Committee  of  the  American  Fund  for 
French  Wounded  is  recognized  by  the  French  Govern- 
ment and  cooperates  with  the  American  Red  Cross 
as  by  agreement  signed  by  Major  Murphy  in  Paris 
and  Mr.  H.  P.  Davison  in  Washington,  and  members  of 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Fund, 
whereby  the  Red  Cross  recognize  the  American  Fund 
as  an  independent  organization  working  in  partner- 
ship with  the  Red  Cross,  and  recognizing  Mrs.  Dike  as 
Chairman  of  the  Civilian  Committee  operating  in  the 
Aisne  and  the  Somme. 

The  object  of  the  Civilian  Committee  of  the  Ameri- 
can Fund  is  to  re-establish  the  destroyed  homes  of  the 

467 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

inhabitants  of  the  devastated  region,  and  to  reinstate 
the  French  citizen  on  an  independent  and  self-sup- 
porting basis. 

The  first  unit  formed  by  the  American  Fund  for 
French  Wounded  for  civilian  work  were  placed  by 
General  Petain  at  Blerancourt  in  the  Aisne,  in  July, 
1917.  Ten  American  women  settled  amongst  the  ruins 
of  this  town  and  organized  a  community  center  which 
included  the  supervision  of  twenty-five  villages. 

In  August,  Smith  College  with  sixteen  workers  affili- 
ated themselves  with  the  American  Fund  for  French 
Wounded,  and  through  the  Chairman  of  the  Civilian 
Committee  were  placed  at  Grecourt  with  ten  villages 
to  supervise. 

The  first  unit  established  at  Blerancourt  accom- 
plished through  the  cooperation  of  the  French  army 
the  task  of  plowing  and  seeding  four  thousand  acres 
of  land  and  planting  three  thousand  fruit  bearing 
trees.  They  also  opened  a  dairy  consisting  of  seven- 
teen cows  which  was  put  on  a  self-supporting  basis, 
and  the  children  and  invalids  were  able  to  obtain  fresh 
milk  for  the  first  time  in  three  years. 

In  three  months  the  unit  completed  the  restoration 
of  forty-seven  houses,  so  that  they  were  habitable 
homes  for  those  who  since  the  German  invasion  had 
lived  in  cellars,  or  shell  torn  ruins. 

The  unit  had  bought  and  judiciously  distributed 
chickens  and  rabbits,  and  provided  laborers  with  the 
implements  of  their  trade,  so  that  they  very  soon  be- 
came wage-earners  again. 

With  the  generosity  of  the  Red  Cross  the  Civilian 
Committee  were  enabled  to  buy  stoves  for  a  number 
of  the  residents.    The  unit  organized  classes  in  car- 

468 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

pentry  for  the  boys  and  sewing  and  housekeeping  for 
the  girls  under  the  training  of  a  teacher  of  the  Eeole 
Managers  who  has  had  long  experience  in  teaching 
children. 

Another  organization  known  for  the  remarkable 
work  it  has  done  is  the  American  Fund  for  the  Heroes 
of  France  and  Her  Allies,  of  which  Mrs.  William  Astor 
Chanler  is  President.  The  French  Heroes'  Fund  was 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  wounded  and 
mutilated  soldiers,  their  wives,  daughters,  and  sisters, 
and  the  children  of  invaded  France.  Up  to  the  fall 
of  1917  a  total  of  $197,941.93  had  been  raised  by 
this  organization.  Workshops  were  established  where 
trade  and  occupations  are  taught,  with  the  object  of 
providing  employment  and  sustenance  and  of  putting 
the  destitute  and  disabled  masses  in  France  on  a 
permanent,  self-supporting  basis,  and  no  work  has 
been  more  constructive  nor  had  a  more  far-reaching 
influence.  This  organization  purchased  the  chateau 
in  which  was  born  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  and  this 
provides  an  impressive  sentimental  interest  for  Amer- 
icans, aside  from  the  practical  objects  to  be  attained. 

Perhaps  the  most  vitally  interesting  phase  of  the 
work  of  the  French  Heroes  Fund  is  its  activity  in 
educating  boy  orphans  between  the  ages  of  12  and 
18  years.  The  plan  involves  sending  these  boys  to 
this  country  to  engage  in  occupations  here,  between 
their  18th  and  21st  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
time  they  will  return  to  France  to  take  to  that  coun- 
try the  results  of  their  experience  in  the  United 
States.  It  is  believed  that  this  will  be  of  permanent 
advantage  in  establishing  a  better  and  a  more  inti- 
mate understanding  between  the  people  of  the  two 

469 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

countries.  France  will,  by  this  method,  give  to 
America  the  enthusiasm  and  spirit  of  the  French 
youth,  and  will,  in  return,  get  the  experience  and 
spirit  of  business  enterprise  that  characterizes  our 
own  country.  It  is  planned  within  a  few  years  to 
have  several  thousand  of  these  French  orphans  ac- 
tively engaged  in  learning  various  occupations  in 
America.  The  French  Heroes  Fund  will  also  main- 
tain a  sanitarium  near  the  Chateau  de  Chavaniac 
Lafayette  for  delicate  children.  This  chateau  is 
eventually  to  be  maintained  as  a  museum  along  the 
lines  followed  in  the  preservation  of  Washington's 
birthplace  at  Mount  Vernon. 

A  number  of  prominent  American  women  have 
been  actively  interested  in  the  American,  British, 
French,  Belgian  Permanent  Blind  Relief  Fund,  which 
has  headquarters  at  590  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 
City.  Mrs.  George  A.  Kessler,  Mrs.  R.  Valentine 
Webster,  and  Mrs.  Harry  Payne  Whitney  are  honor- 
ary secretaries,  and  Miss  Nellie  Turner  is  assistant 
honorary  secretary.  The  Fund  was  organized  in 
England  and  France  in  November,  1915,  and  in  this 
country  in  March,  1916.  The  American  section  is 
under  the  patronage  of  President  Wilson ;  The  British 
and  the  Belgian  sections,  of  the  King  and  Queen  of 
England,  and  the  King  and  Queen  of  Belgium  re- 
spectively; while  the  President  of  the  French  Re- 
public heads  the  French  section.  The  primary  ob- 
ject of  the  organization  is  the  creation  of  a  fund  for 
the  permanent  care  of  the  blinded  soldiers  of  America, 
Great  Britain,  France  and  Belgium.  There  are  com- 
mittees in  Boston,  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  In- 
dianapolis, Memphis,  Milwaukee,  Philadelphia,  Pitts- 

470 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

burgh  and  Washington,  D.  C.  More  than  $500,000 
has  been  collected  by  the  end  of  1917  and  all  of  this 
has  been  spent  for  actual  relief,  the  expenses  having 
been  otherwise  met.  $200,000  has  been  sent  to  France 
and  England,  partly  for  immediate  relief  and  partly 
for  investment  in  War  Loan  Bonds  as  foundation 
for  a  permanent  fund,  for  which  purpose  $300,000 
has  been  invested.  The  organization  pledged  itself 
to  raise  approximately  $400,000  in  10  years,  to  be  sent 
to  France  in  installments  of  200,000  francs  yearly, 
and  this  is  but  a  part  of  the  sum  required  for  the 
blinded  Americans,  French,  British  and  Belgians. 
Mr.  George  A.  Kessler,  chairman  of  the  executive 
committee,  placed  his  handsome  Paris  residence  at 
the  disposal  of  the  French  committee,  to  be  utilized 
for  the  temporary  training  of  the  blind;  and  work- 
shops have  been  established  in  Paris.  The  work  of 
this  organization  is  on  a  very  solid  basis,  and  does 
not  aim  at  sporadic  or  temporary  relief,  but  for  the 
maintenance  and  support  of  the  blinded  soldiers  in 
the  hard  and  difficult  years  that  must  follow  the  war. 
A  number  of  the  American  students  of  the  Ecole 
des  Beaux  Arts  founded,  in  December,  1917,  in  Paris, 
what  is  known  as  the  American  Students'  Committee 
of  the  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  in  appreciation  of  the 
debt  of  gratitude  which  the  students  owe  to  the 
French  nation  and  particularly  to  the  school.  The 
Committee  has  branches  in  Chicago,  Boston,  San 
Francisco,  Washington,  and  Philadelphia,  with  an 
active  chairman  in  charge  of  each.  There  are  be- 
tween 300  and  350  regular  contributors  who  gave,  in 
less  than  two  years  more  than  $60,000.  The  work 
this  committee  is  doing  for  women  in  France  through 

471 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

an  ouvroir,  organized  to  provide  work  for  mothers, 
wives  and  sisters  in  need,  is  extremely  interesting. 
The  school  furnishes  a  large  room  in  which  the  work 
is  carried  on.  Here  are  made  various  articles  that 
are  needed  by  men  at  the  front,  and  scarfs,  socks, 
sweaters,  shirts,  underclothing,  mittens,  slippers, 
pajamas,  etc.,  for  the  wounded.  Material  is  bought 
by  the  committee  or  received  through  donations. 
The  women  are  paid  a  fixed  sum  for  every  article 
turned  out,  a  sum  that  is  larger  than  that  paid  by 
most  ouvroirs  connected  with  the  charitable  organiza- 
tions in  Paris.  The  ouvroir  turns  out  to  the  soldiers 
every  month  articles  to  the  value  of  1,500  francs,  for 
which  the  cost  is  about  100  francs.  In  other  words, 
the  ouvroir,  besides  providing  work  for  the  women 
members  of  the  families  of  the  students,  permits  a  sav- 
ing of  approximately  1,400  francs  a  month  on  articles 
of  special  design  of  great  utility  that  cannot  be  pur- 
chased elsewhere.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  gas  at- 
tacks were  renewed,  many  men  were  without  masks. 
The  ouvroir  immediately  set  to  work  and  about  300 
masks  were  promptly  sent  off  to  the  front.  Besides 
caring  for  these  needs  the  ouvroir  executes  many  or- 
ders for  other  charitable  organizations  in  Paris,  in- 
cluding the  American  Relief  Clearing  House.  In 
this  way  funds  are  secured  for  purchasing  material. 
The  Union  Des  Arts  was  founded  by  Rachel  Boyer, 
of  the  Comedie  Frangaise,  several  years  before  the 
war,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  help  to  the  needy 
actors  and  actresses,  literary  men,  painters,  sculptors, 
musicians  and  l3T:'ic  artists.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  the  organization  turned  its  attention  to  war  re- 
lief,  establishing  soup  kitchens   and   workrooms  in 

472 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGAJl^IZATIONS 

Paris.  As  the  war  continued,  it  became  more  and 
more  difficult  to  obtain  contributions  in  France,  and 
through  the  Marquis  de  Polignac,  who  is  represent- 
ing French  art  for  the  French  Government  in  Amer- 
ica, a  request  was  made  to  organize  a  committee  here. 
This  was  undertaken  by  Mr.  P.  C.  Cartier  and  Miss 
Martha  Maynard,  and  the  organization  was  ready  for 
actual  work  the  1st  of  January,  1917.  Through  sub- 
scriptions and  various  entertainments,  and  the  sale 
of  charms,  bracelets,  etc.,  the  society  has  sent  to 
Madame  Rachel  Boyer  about  73,889  francs.  Rachel 
Boyer  is  president  of  the  Paris  organization.  The 
officers  for  the  American  branch  are :  honorary  presi- 
dent, Gaston  Liebert;  president,  Edmund  L.  Baylies; 
vice  presidents,  Winthrop  Ames,  Frederick  R. 
Coudert,  Joseph  R.  Freedlander,  McDougall  Haukes, 
Mrs.  Philip  Lydig,  Lloyd  Warren;  bankers,  J.  P. 
Morgan  &  Company;  honorary  secretary,  Mrs.  J. 
West  Roosevelt;  secretaries,  Miss  Martha  Maynard, 
P.  C.  Cartier. 

The  work  of  the  Comite  Franco-Americain  was 
started  by  Mr.  Frederic  R.  Coudert  of  New  York  in 
August,  1914,  to  rescue  a  hundred  little  waifs  from 
the  invaded  region  in  the  north  of  France.  The 
children  were  brought  to  Paris  and  placed  in  the 
care  of  Mr.  August  F.  Jaccaci,  the  president  of  the 
organization,  who,  with  the  assistance  of  the  other 
members  of  the  French  Committee,  Mrs.  Cooper 
Hewitt  the  honorary  president,  Mrs.  Robert  Woods 
Bliss,  vice  president,  Mr.  Arthur  Hugh  Frazier,  treas- 
urer, and  the  Countess  Pierre  de  Viel-Castel  and  Mrs. 
William  H.  Hill,  established  colonies  through  France 
to  care  for  the  children,  who  came  in  continually  in- 

473 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

creasing  numbers  as  the  war  continued.  There  are 
over  twenty-five  colonies,  caring  for  from  1,200  to 
1,500  children.  There  is  also  a  sanatorium.  New 
children  are  constantly  being  received  from  the  dev- 
astated regions  and  the  need  is  steadily  growing. 

The  various  colonies  are  supported,  some  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee,  the  others  by  donations  and 
by  the  ^'marraine'^  system,  whereby  individuals  in 
America  "adopt"  and  support  a  definite  child,  con- 
cerning whom  they  get  reports,  and  with  whom  they 
may  establish  direct  communication.  The  clothing  is 
made  entirely  in  the  United  States  and  shipped  to 
France,  and  much  of  the  food  is  sent  from  the  United 
States. 

The  American  office  of  the  Committee  is  at  24  East 
63d  Street,  and  among  the  members  of  the  Executive 
Committee  in  the  United  States  are:  Miss  Rosina  S. 
Hoyt;  Miss  Martha  L.  Draper,  chairman  of  Adop- 
tions Committee;  Mrs.  Joseph  Lindon  Smith,  field 
secretary;  and  Mrs.  Charles  P.  Howland,  secretary 
and  chairman  of  Supply  Committee. 

The  American  Girls'  Aid,  293  Fifth  Ave.,  New 
York  City,  was  one  of  the  first  organizations 
to  take  up  war  relief  work  for  France,  and 
was  formed  for  the  collection  of  clothing  for  the 
victims  of  the  European  War  in  France,  the  clothing 
being  distributed  through  the  War  Relief  Clearing 
House  for  France  and  Her  Allies.  The  Organization 
has  many  branches  in  different  parts  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  addition  to  supplying  clothing  is  also 
contributing  hospital  supplies,  approximately  9,000 
cases  having  been  sent  to  Europe  by  the  summer  of 
1917.     The  Committee  has  pledged  the  support  of 

474 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

250  orphans  in  France.  In  the  fall  of  1917  it  was 
announced  that  arrangements  had  been  completed  for 
the  establishment  of  a  hospital  unit  in  France  of 
about  100  beds,  for  French  and  American  soldiers. 
This  is  supported  by  subscriptions  secured  by  Dr.  L. 
M.  Moody,  the  surgeon  in  charge  and  by  the  Girls' 
Aid.  Ten  nurses  are  on  the  staff,  and  these  are  paid 
by  the  organization.  Dr.  Moody  and  the  two  surgeons 
assisting  him  serve  without  pay.  Friends  of  the 
American  Girls'  Aid  donated  three  ambulances  and 
one  automobile,  and  drivers  immediately  volunteered 
their  services  without  pay.  The  running  expenses 
of  the  hospital  are  about  $5,000  a  month.  The 
American  Girls'  Aid  is  working  under  the  patronage 
of  the  American  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Paris, 
France,  and  the  work  of  the  Committee  has  the  ap- 
proval and  sympathy  of  the  Belgian  Relief  Commit- 
tee. The  Executive  Committee  is  composed  of  Miss 
Gladys  Hollingsworth,  chairman,  Mrs.  Gaston  Pinto, 
Miss  Elizabeth  Hollingsworth  and  A.  Seton  Post,  Jr. 

The  appeal  of  the  committee  known  as  The  Father- 
less Children  of  France  is  almost  electric.  The 
society  was  organized  in  October,  1915.  Its  aim 
is  to  maintain  the  orphaned  French  children  in 
their  own  homes,  to  be  brought  up  by  their  mothers 
and  fitted  for  the  work  of  reconstructing  the  French 
nation,  which  will  develop  upon  them.  The  future 
of  France  may  be  said  to  depend  on  these  children 
and  upon  the  opportunity  given  them  to  grow  to  ma- 
turity, healthy  and  strong,  and  able  to  assume  these 
great  burdens. 

The  policy  of  the  organization  is  to  establish  a 
personal  relationship   between  the  American  donor 

475 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

and  his  little  French  protege  by  means  of  letters 
which  will  bind  the  two  countries  in  ties  of  under- 
standing and  sympathy  for  the  future.  Money  is  col- 
lected in  this  country  by  voluntary  contributions 
through  voluntary  committees,  and  sent  to  Paris 
where  it  is  distributed  by  Government  post-office 
money  order,  bearing  the  name  of  the  individual 
American  subscriber  as  well  as  the  name  and  address 
of  the  French  child.  In  return  the  child  benefited, 
writes  a  letter  to  his  American  friend  and  usually 
sends  a  photograph.  These  little  letters  are  charm- 
ing and  pathetic  in  the  extreme  and  are  not  to  be  for- 
gotten. 

It  is  the  inviolable  rule  of  the  Fatherless  Children 
that  every  cent  subscribed  for  a  child  shall  go  to  that 
child  without  the  deduction  of  a  postage  stamp,  and 
all  overhead  expenses  here  and  in  Paris  are  met  by  a 
separate  fund  donated  for  the  purpose. 

The  society  is  no  longer  a  branch  of  the  American 
Society  for  the  Relief  of  French  War  Orphans.  That 
society  recently  became  merged  with  the  Red  Cross 
and  has  gone  out  of  existence,  leaving  the  Fatherless 
Children  of  France  the  only  organization  for  the  re- 
lief of  French  war  orphans  on  this  particular  plan 
on  a  large  scale  in  this  country. 

The  society  has  130  committees  operating  in  as 
many  different  communities.  It  has  raised  over 
$1,500,000  and  of  that  $1,000,000  since  the  first  of  the 
year.     It  has  cared  for  50,000  orphans. 

There  are  150,000  more  children  registered  on  the 
lists  and  in  desperate  need  of  help.  Advices  from 
Paris  state  that  the  winters  bring  the  most  ex- 
treme  privation   and   suffering   and   that   the    chil- 

476 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

dren  are  dying  by  hundreds  of  tuberculosis  because 
of  exposure  and  malnutrition.  Headquarters  563 
Park  Ave.,  New  York  City. 

The  American  Distributing  Service  was  the  first 
American  organization  for  hospital  aid  in  France, 
having  been  formed  in  August,  1914.  It  was  started 
by  Mrs.  Robert  W.  Bliss,  for  the  instant  relief  of  the 
most  obvious  needs  of  the  hospital  staff.  At  the  end 
of  the  first  year  the  report  showed  that  over  44,000 
articles  had  been  sent  out.  The  list  of  hospitals  was 
then  700  and  in  less  than  a  year  the  list  of  articles 
sent  out  each  month  had  grown  to  240,000  and  the 
number  of  hospitals  to  1,400.  Within  a  few  more 
months  the  list  of  articles  sent  out  had  increased  to 
940,000  and  the  hospitals  supplied  were  2,553  in  num- 
ber. The  American  Distributing  Service  is  under 
the  authority  of  the  Minister  of  War  and  he  has  is- 
sued instructions  that  each  of  these  2,553  hospitals 
shall  send  in  a  list  of  supplies  most  needed.  The 
work  has  increased  so  enormously  that  although  the 
supplies  are  delivered  by  motors  to  the  hospitals 
nearest  Paris,  railroad  service  is  being  used  more  and 
more  on  account  of  the  large  amounts  sent  out.  The 
system  of  the  service  is  so  perfect  that  the  supplies 
are  shipped  almost  as  soon  as  received.  Besides  dis- 
tributing supplies,  relief  was  given  during  the  first 
year  by  using  the  headquarters  for  refugees,  and  now 
rooms  are  given  over  to  homeless  women  who  are  em- 
ployed in  making  the  various  garments  needed  for 
the  distributing  service.  Mrs.  Arthur  M.  Dodge  has 
been  prominently  identified  with  this  work  from  the 
beginning. 

Especially  appealing  is  the  work  being  done  by  the 
477 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

War  Babies'  Cradle  of  which  Mrs.  Frances  A.  Clarke 
is  honorary  president,  and  Mrs.  Jules  S.  Bache,  hon- 
orary treasurer.  The  purpose  of  the  War  Babies* 
Cradle  is  to  care  for  the  mothers  and  children  in  dis- 
tress in  Northern  France  and  Belgium,  who  lack  food, 
clothing,  fuel  and  medical  attention.  The  help 
afforded  is  done  through  an  agency  at  Calais  under 
the  superintendence  of  Comptesse  Marie  du  Hemp- 
tinne,  a  Belgian  lady  who  visits  the  families  in  the 
stricken  districts  and  so  far  as  possible  supplies  their 
needs.  Necessities  only  are  purchased  with  the  con- 
tributions. The  Cradle  cares  for  the  mothers  for  ten 
days  and  then  exerts  its  efforts  largely  for  the  assist- 
ance of  the  new-born  children,  whose  plight  under 
the  terrifying  and  dreadful  conditions  of  their  birth 
is  most  deplorable.  The  Committee  works  in  con- 
junction with  the  French,  Belgian  and  British  Mili- 
tary Charities.  Mrs.  Jules  S.  Bache,  through  her  in-- 
dividual  efforts,  has  raised  more  than  $10,000  for 
these  children ;  and  a  newly-formed  committee  for  the 
War  Babies'  Cradle  consists  of  Mrs.  Ogden  Mills, 
Mrs.  Edmund  C.  Baylies,  Mrs.  Herman  Oelrich,  Mrs. 
Orme  Wilson,  Mrs.  Charles  Ditson,  Lady  Colebrook, 
Mrs.  Philip  Lydig,  and  Mrs.  Lawrence  Gillespie. 

The  Children's  Fund  for  Kiddies'  Kits  was  started 
in  October,  1915,  as  hundreds  of  refugee  children 
were  coming  into  Paris  and  clothing  was  difficult  or 
impossible  to  get.  It  was  intended  that  the  appeal 
should  be  made  to  the  children  of  this  country  to 
supply  the  needs  of  French  and  Belgian  children. 
Money  sent  in  for  kits  has  amounted  to  more  than 
$6,000,  which  has  been  used  exclusively  for  needy 
children. 

478 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

A  committee  known  as  Relief  for  the  Liberated  Vil- 
lages of  France  has  as  its  representative  in  this  coun- 
try Miss  Marie  Louise  Fontaine,  and  it  has  head- 
quarters in  New  York  and  in  Washington.  It  has 
done  very  effective  work  in  sending  clothing,  table 
linen  and  other  supplies  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
reclaimed  villages  left  by  the  retreating  Germans. 
This  charity  was  organized  in  France  and  its  honor- 
ary president  is  Madame  La  Comtesse  d'Haussonville 
and  its  active  president  is  Madame  Adolphe  Moreau. 
An  interesting  phase  of  the  work  of  this  organization 
in  France  is  the  sending  of  squads  of  women  among 
the  hundreds  of  groups  of  villages  whose  homes  have 
been  destroyed.  These  women,  many  of  them  of 
wealthy  families,  share  the  life  of  the  peasants  of  the 
villages.  Needs  of  the  organization  to  which  this 
country  can  contribute  are  described  as  follows: 
*'We  want  all  kinds  of  clothes,  shoes  and  linen.  We 
want  tools  and  kitchen  utensils.  We  want  threads, 
cottons,  wools  and  embroidery  silk  for  the  refugees 
earning  their  livelihood  with  their  needles." 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

RELIEF  FOR  FRANCE 

American  lee  Flotilla  Committee  raised  more  than 
$100,000  in  1917— American  Field  Service  in  France— 
Appui  aux  Artistes — Mrs.  Stuyvesant  raises  more  than 
$20,000  through  "One  Dollar  Fund"— Duryea  Re- 
lief— Franco-American  Committee — American  Branch 
French  Actors'  Fund — French  Bureau — French  Tuber- 
culosis War  Victims'  Fund — Hospital  Under  Three 
Flags — Lafayette  Fund — Le  Bien-Etre  du  Blesse — i 
Secours  de  Guerre — Secours  National. 

No  MORE  beautiful  charity  has  emanated  from 
America  than  that  known  as  the  American  Ice  Flo- 
tilla Committee,  of  which  Miss  Gertrude  Robinson 
Smith  is  chairman  and  Miss  Anne  Morgan,  treasurer. 
The  first  work  of  this  committee  was  in  1916,  when 
$70,000  was  raised  for  supplying  and  equipping  surgi- 
cal automobile  ambulances  on  the  Western  Front. 
In  1917  more  than  $100,000  was  raised  for  Ice  Flo- 
tillas— automobiles  and  ice-making  machines  for  the 
purpose  of  supplying  the  field  hospitals  with  the  daily 
supply  of  ice  for  the  wounded.  The  work  has  not 
only  had  the  indorsement  of  the  Service  de  Sante  and 
of  the  leading  officials  of  the  French  Government,  but 
has  been  indorsed  by  representative  surgeons  of  the 
United  States,  who  see  in  the  adequate  supply  of  ice 
the  opportunity  for  the  saving  of  many  lives  and  the 

480 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

amelioration  of  the  sufferings  of  soldiers  wounded  in 
battle,  or  victims  of  fevers  and  other  diseases  inci- 
dental to  service  at  the  front.  Committees  have  been 
formed  in  various  cities  and  the  Ice  Flotillas  are  dis- 
tinguished at  the  front  by  the  name  of  the  city  whose 
contribution  made  the  individual  unit  possible. 

The  American  Field  Service  in  France  was  formed 
to  supply  ambulances  to  the  French  Army,  and  sec- 
tions of  ambulances  driven  by  American  volunteers 
have  figured  notably  on  the  Yser,  the  Aisne,  the 
Somme,  in  Champagne,  Argonne,  at  Verdun,  the 
Woevre,  in  Lorraine  and  in  reconquered  Alsace,  and 
the  Field  Service  has  two  ambulances  with  the  French 
Armies  in  the  Balkans.  Eighteen  of  these  sections 
had  been  formed  by  the  summer  of  1917  and  seven 
more  were  in  process  of  formation. 

After  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the 
war  the  Field  Service  formed  a  new  Transport 
Branch,  for  the  purpose  of  providing  automobile 
sections  to  be  used  for  the  transport  of  munitions  at 
the  front.  Within  a  few  months  after  this  country 
had  entered  the  war  four  sections  of  forty-five  men 
each  had  gone  to  the  front  and  others  were  rapidly 
being  formed.  The  American  Field  Service  aims  to 
obtain  10,000  young  men,  and  the  various  sections 
they  will  constitute  will  be  organized  on  the  same 
basis  as  ambulance  sections.  A  training  camp  for 
men  entering  the  transport  work  was  organized  at 
the  Front  by  the  French  Army,  and  a  school  for 
officers  of  the  American  Field  Service  was  also  or- 
ganized. It  is  estimated  that  the  expenses  of  the 
transport  sections  amount  to  $10,000  a  year  per  sec- 
tion.    The  personnel  of  the  sections  are  wholly  Amer- 

481 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

ican.  At  an  annual  expenditure  of  about  $720,000 
the  American  Field  •  Service  aims  to  offer  to  the 
French  Army  the  whole  personnel  for  a  munition 
transport  reserve.  When  the  American  Field  Serv- 
ice had  been  in  Paris  little  more  than  two  years  it  had 
received  ninety-nine  citations  from  the  French  Army. 
It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  contributions  to  the 
Fund,  which  have  been  received  from  all  parts  of  the 
United  States,  together  with  the  donors  of  am- 
bulances, but  the  sum  is  a  very  large  one.  In  all, 
about  1,000  ambulances  have  been  donated  by  individ- 
uals, university  graduates  and  organizations.  In  the 
first  two  years  of  its  existence  the  American  Field 
Service  cared  for  more  than  500,000  wounded  and 
many  of  the  volunteers  who  have  served  with  it  have 
been  university  men.  A  separate  activity  of  the  Field 
Service  is  moving  pictures  taken  of  the  soldiers 
abroad,  which  are  shown  in  America  to  raise  money 
to  maintain  the  field  ambulance  service.  The  activi- 
ties of  this  splendid  committee  are  directed  from  432 
Fourth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

The  Appui  aux  Artistes  is  organized  to  provide 
meals  for  workers  in  the  arts  and  their  families  de- 
prived of  employment  by  the  war.  Since  its  forma- 
tion in  August,  1914,  it  has  served  more  than  500,000 
meals.  For  the  benefit  of  the  artists  and  their  fam- 
ilies five  canteens  are  maintained  and  a  clothing  sta- 
tion is  also  provided  which  has  distributed  more  than 
6,000  articles  of  clothing.  A  villa  loaned  for  the 
purpose  has  also  been  maintained  for  artists  whose 
health  necessitated  a  stay  in  the  country.  The  or- 
ganization is  the  only  one  doing  work  of  this  kind  in 
Paris,  and  the  demands  upon  it  have  been  steadily  in- 

482 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

creased  with  the  continued  duration  of  the  war.  The 
executive  committee  for  America  has  headquarters  in 
the  Fine  Arts  Building,  215  West  57th  Street,  New 
York  City.  Mrs.  Edward  Rowland  is  chairman  of 
the  organization  committee,  Ernest  Peixotto  is  secre- 
tary and  Miss  Malvina  Hoffman  is  treasurer. 

Mrs.  Rutherford  Stuyvesant  has  interested  herself 
in  raising  in  America  a  ''One-Dollar  Fund"  which 
had  reached  by  the  end  of  1917  more  than  $20,000. 
Mrs.  Stuyvesant  is  assisting  the  French  organization 
known  as  the  Charite  Maternelle  de  Paris,  though 
she  has  not  organized  an  American  committee.  The 
French  organization  of  this  Society  is  one  of  the  old- 
est institutions  in  France,  having  been  founded  in 
1784  to  help  the  infants  of  poor  women  in  the  city 
of  Paris.  Its  first  president  was  Queen  Marie  An- 
toinette. The  needs  created  by  the  strain  of  w^ar  in- 
creased daily.  The  objects  of  the  Society  are;  the 
adoption  of  children  of  the  poor  at  birth  and  during 
the  first  year  of  their  infancy,  together  with  direct 
supervision  of  their  care  in  the  homes  of  the  poor. 

Mrs.  Nina  Larrey  Duryea  organized  at  Dinard, 
France,  in  1914  the  Duryea  War  Relief.  This  work 
was  begun  upon  the  arrival  of  the  first  refugees,  and 
since  that  time  more  than  70,000  persons  have  been 
assisted.  The  committee  made  its  appeal  for  both 
money  and  clothing  and  other  supplies,  which  are 
sent  to  the  stricken  and  destitute  in  the  villages  be- 
hind the  firing  line.  Up  to  the  summer  of  1917  ap- 
proximately $70,000  had  been  collected  in  the  United 
States,  together  with  clothing  and  supplies  valued  at 
$100,000.  Officers  of  the  Association  are  Mrs.  Nina 
Larrey  Duryea,  president ;  Mrs.  Seth  Barton  French, 

483 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

vice  president;  Mrs.  J.  Borden  Harriman,  vice  presi- 
dent; Mrs.  Charles  H.  Ditson,  secretary;  Mr.  Charles 
Elliot  Warren,  treasurer ;  Mrs.  Frances  Seaver,  assist- 
ant treasurer ;  David  Willard,  chairman  of  the  execu- 
tive committee.  Headquarters,  259  Fifth  Ave.,  New 
York  City. 

The  Franco-American  Committee  for  the  Protec- 
tion of  the  Children  of  the  Frontier  was  organized  to 
aid  the  destitute  children  of  France,  Belgium,  and 
the  reconquered  villages  of  France.  Mrs.  Peter 
Cooper  Hewitt  is  honorary  president;  August  F. 
Jaccaci,  president  and  secretary;  Mrs.  Robert  W. 
Bliss,  vice  president,  and  Frederick  R.  Coudert, 
treasurer.  A  number  of  homes  and  sanitariums  have 
been  established,  and  money  and  supplies  of  cloth- 
ing have  been  sent  to  the  destitute  children.  The 
work  of  the  Committee  has  been  carried  on  at  small 
cost  and  every  dollar  contributed  has  gone  to  the 
support  of  helpless  children. 

The  American  Branch  of  the  French  Actors'  Fund 
has  for  its  president  Mrs.  James  H.  Kidder.  The 
closing  of  many  theaters  in  Paris,  incident  to  the  war, 
left  many  lesser  employees  of  the  playhouses  in  a  de- 
plorable condition.  Many  of  the  men  went  to  the 
front  leaving  destitute  wives  and  children  behind 
them.  Many  actors  and  actresses  likewise  were  sadly 
in  need  of  assistance,  and  the  French  Actors'  Fund 
was  formed  to  do  this  work.  The  public  who  en- 
joyed the  theater  in  France  and  who  are  lovers  of  the 
drama,  together  with  the  theatrical  profession,  were 
asked  to  aid  their  fellow-craftsmen  of  the  French 
theater.  The  funds  collected  are  distributed  through 
the  Association  des  Directeurs  de  Theatre  de  Paris. 

484 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

Madam  Charles  Le  Veerier  is  president  and  Mrs. 
Daniel  Gregory  Mason,  manager  of  the  French  Bu- 
reau, which  has  for  its  object  the  sale  of  toys  and  nov- 
elties made  in  France  in  seven  workrooms  maintained 
by  wounded  and  maimed  soldiers.  The  New  York 
advisory  board  consists  of  Mrs.  William  Adams  De- 
lano, Mrs.  William  Astor  Chanler,  Mrs.  William 
Greenough,  Mrs.  Victor  Morawetz,  Mrs.  Edith  Par- 
sons Morgan,  Miss  Gertrude  Watson,  and  Mrs.  Mau- 
rice Kozminski.  The  toys  and  novelties,  it  is  be- 
lieved, will  ultimately  replace  upon  the  American 
market  the  toys  of  German  manufacture  sold  here 
prior  to  the  war,  thus  creating  a  permanent  in- 
dustry for  a  large  part  of  the  French  people  incapaci- 
tated for  other  work.  The  proceeds  from  the  sales 
go  to  aid  both  the  makers  of  the  toys  and  the  desti- 
tute women  and  children  of  France.  At  the  shop  in 
New  York  in  which  these  articles  are  sold  something 
more  than  $27,000  was  received  in  1917. 

The  French  Tuberculosis  War  Victims'  Fund  is 
working  in  connection  with  the  French  Ministry  of 
War  and  was  founded  in  Paris  in  October,  1916,  with 
the  Honorable  W.  G.  Sharp,  American  ambassador  to 
France  as  an  honorary  president,  together  with  many 
well-known  French  and  American  men  and  women. 
A  very  broad  appeal  was  made  for  the  purpose  of 
saving  France  from  the  ravages  of  tuberculosis. 
Twenty-five  patients  are  received  at  a  time  at  a  re- 
ceiving hospital  at  Auteuil,  who  are  later  sent  to  the 
sanatorium  maintained  by  the  fund  in  Switzerland. 
Arrangements  for  the  care  of  a  much  larger  number  of 
patients  are  under  way.  The  tuberculosis  soldiers 
are  sent  to  the  Chateau  de  la  Fontaine  at  Yerres  and 

485 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

other  sanatoria.  Discharged  soldiers  are  sent  to  Mar- 
dor,  women  and  children  to  Saussy,  and  boys  to 
La  Xhaumette,  where  a  school  of  agriculture  is 
maintained.  The  medical  work  is  done  chiefly  by 
American  physicians  who  are  specialists  in  tubercu- 
losis. 

Since  the  founding  of  the  Hospital  Under  Three 
Flags  in  the  spring  of  1915  at  Ris-Orangis,  near  Paris, 
more  than  1,020  cases  have  been  treated,  and  notwith- 
standing the  severity  of  the  cases  there  were  only  21 
deaths,  a  mortality  rate  of  about  two  per  cent.  This 
splendid  institution  was  founded  by  Lady  Johnstone, 
formerly  Miss  Antoinette  Pinchot  of  New  York,  the 
wife  of  Sir  Allan  Johnstone,  late  British  ambassador 
at  The  Hague,  and  by  Mr.  Harold  Reckitt,  an  English 
manufacturer.  The  American  headquarters  are  at 
360  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City.  Mrs.  Arthur 
Woods  is  secretary  and  Mrs.  H.  R.  Beckwith,  execu- 
tive secretary. 

Gratitude  for  the  assistance  of  France  to  the  Amer- 
ican Colonists  in  revolutionary  days  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  the  Lafayette  Fund  in  December,  1914. 
The  idea  of  the  organization  was  conceived  by  Mrs. 
William  Astor  Chanler  and  Miss  Emily  Sloane,  now 
Baronne  de  La  Grange.  The  purpose  of  the  La- 
fayette Fund  is  to  send  comfort  kits  to  ameliorate 
the  hardships  of  the  French  soldiers  in  the  trenches, 
and  since  its  organization  more  than  100,000  kits, 
valued  at  $2.00  each,  have  been  sent.  Up  to  June, 
1917,  more  than  $212,000  has  been  raised  for  this  pur- 
pose. Postal  cards  addressed  to  the  contributors 
were  inclosed  with  each  kit  enabling  the  soldier  who 
receives  the  kit  to  communicate  his  appreciation  to 

486 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

the  donor.  The  executive  committee  of  the  fund 
guaranteed  all  expenses  of  administration,  so  that 
the  whole  of  each  contribution  goes  for  the  purpose 
for  which  it  is  intended.  Headquarters  of  the  Fund 
are  at  the  Vanderbilt  Hotel,  New  York  City,  and 
Francis  Roache  is  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  ex- 
ecutive committee  includes  Mrs.  Edmund  L.  Baylies, 
Mrs.  William  Astor  Chanler,  Mrs.  John  Jay  Chap- 
man, Mrs.  William  K.  Dick,  Mrs.  James  B.  Duke, 
Mrs.  Newbold  Le  Roy  Edgar,  Mrs.  Archer  M.  Hunt- 
intgon,  Mrs.  P.  Cooper  Hewitt,  Baronne  de  La  Grange, 
IMrs.  Philip  M.  Lydig,  Miss  Janet  Scudder,  Mrs.  Lee 
Thomas,  Miss  Jane  B.  Wallach,  Mrs.  M.  Orme  Wil- 
son, and  Mrs.  Henry  Rogers  Winthrop. 

Le  Bien-Etre  du  Blesse  was  founded  in  May,  1916, 
at  the  request  of  the  French  Government.  Its  pur- 
pose is  to  provide  the  wounded  in  the  hospitals  in  the 
war  zones,  cut  off  from  relatives  and  friends,  with 
food  and  delicacies  necessary  to  their  more  speedy 
recovery.  The  lives  of  thousands  of  men  have  been 
saved  by  providing  them  with  food  from  the  Le  Bien- 
Etre  kitchens,  which  the  hospitals  themselves  could 
not  supply.  The  American  Committee  of  which  Mrs. 
Gertrude  Atherton  is  president,  seeks  to  maintain, 
as  a  minimum,  contributions  of  $5,000  a  month.  Five 
dollars  per  soldier  is  estimated  as  the  entire  cost  of 
giving  the  wounded  what  is  required  during  his  stay  in 
the  war  zone  hospital.  Thousands  of  tons  of  these  sup- 
plies have  been  shipped  to  France.  Monthly  ship- 
ments have  been  contributed  by  Mrs.  Ives  Goddard  of 
Providence,  Rhode  Island,  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  Fish 
Webster  of  Newport,  and  the  Boston  committee  con- 
tributed about  $2,000.     Approximately  450,000  francs 

487 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

in  money  and  food  stuffs  have  been  sent  to  France  for 
tlie  kitchens. 

Mrs.  John  A.  Logan,  Jr.,  is  chairman  for  America 
of  the  Secours  de  Guerre.  This  Franco-Belgian  char- 
ity for  refugees  and  the  homeless  and  soldiers  of  the 
invaded  districts  on  leave,  provides  shelter  in  the 
form  of  a  seminary  at  Saint  Sulpice,  with  650  rooms, 
of  which  520  are  occupied  by  families  of  from  four  to 
eight  members.  There  are  42  dormitories,  contaiuing 
18  to  50  beds,  and  from  1,200  to  2,200  persons  are 
lodged  in  the  building.  On  an  average  4,000  meals 
are  served  daily.  Clothes  are  given  to  the  needy  and 
work  is  provided  for  the  refugees.  The  charity  is 
subsidized  by  the  Ministers  of  War  and  Finance  and 
by  the  city  of  Paris. 

Contributions  and  other  receipts  totaling  nearly 
$400,000  have  been  received  by  the  New  York  Com- 
mittee of  the  Secours  National,  which  is  the  principal 
organization  in  France  for  the  relief  of  noncombat- 
ant  sufferers  from  the  war.  This  organization  pro- 
vides immediate  relief  for  the  inhabitants  of  places 
destroyed  by  the  enemy  and  provides  for  funds  for 
the  reconstruction  of  their  homes.  It  maintains 
workshops  for  the  unemployed,  supports  shelters 
and  restaurants  for  French  and  Belgian  refugees, 
makes  provision  for  the  care  of  orphaned  or  lost 
children  and  of  the  aged,  and  assists  in  the  relief  of 
civilians  made  prisoners  by  the  Germans  and  later 
sent  back  to  France  through  Switzerland,  usually  in  a 
destitute  and  pitiful  condition.  The  committee  co- 
operates with  the  American  Relief  Clearing  House  of 
France  and  acts  without  charge  as  a  purchasing  and 
forwarding  agent  for  organizations  and  individuals 

488 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

wishing  to  contribute  founds  or  supplies.  There  is 
no  deduction  from  contributions  for  operating  ex- 
penses, which  are  rnet  privately.  The  New  York 
committee  consists  of  Mrs.  Frederick  H.  Allen,  Mrs. 
Robert  Bacon,  Mrs.  W.  Bayard  Cutting,  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam Greenough,  Mrs.  F.  Gray  Griswold,  Mrs.  Walter 
Maynard,  Mrs.  Ogden  Mills,  Mrs.  Francis  K.  Pendle- 
ton, Mrs.  Nathaniel  Thayer,  Mrs.  Edward  M.  Town- 
send,  Mrs.  Harry  P.  Whitney  and  Mrs.  Whitney  War- 
ren. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

RELIEF  FOR  GREAT  BRITAIN 

Relief  work  for  Great  Britain — British-American  Re- 
lief Fund — Receipts  amount  to  over  $164,000 — British 
War  Relief  Association — Chelsea  War  Refugees'  Fund 
— American  Branch  Lord  Beresford's  Fund — Lady 
Helmsley's  Fund — London  Motor  Volunteer  Corps — 
American  Auxiliary  Woman's  Health  Association  of 
Ireland — Shamrock  Fund — Scottish  Highlanders  Relief 
Association — Queen  of  Roumania  Fund — New  England- 
Italian  War  Relief. 

Among  the  well-known  American  women  prominent 
in  relief  work  for  England  may  be  mentioned  :  Lady 
Natica  Lister-Kaye,  The  Duchess  of  Marlborough, 
Lady  Randolph  Churchill,  Lady  Lowther,  and  Lady 
Paget.  Mrs.  Whitelaw  Reid,  since  America  entered 
the  conflict,  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the 
work  that  is  being  done  in  America  for  the  relief  of 
British  war  sufferers.  Many  other  American  women 
have  been  to  England  since  the  war  began  and  have 
done,  and  are  doing,  valuable  work  in  all  fields. 

The  British-American  War  Relief  Fund,  with  Mrs. 
Frederick  W.  Whitridge,  acting  president,  was  formed 
to  carry  on  the  relief  work  for  Great  Britain  and  her 
Allies.  Numerous  branches  have  been  established 
throughout  the  country,  those  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
shipping  directly  to    the    war    zones.    A    total  of 

490 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

1,544,561  articles  have  been  shipped  since  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Fund  to  June,  1917,  and  882,769  of  these 
were  donated.  There  have  also  been  shipped  abroad 
5,000  pounds  of  anaesthetics  and  200  boxes  of  grape 
fruit  and  oranges.  Several  hospital  cots  have  been 
endowed  and  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  recreation  hut  provided 
and  maintained  on  the  firing  line.  In  addition  to 
these  activities  three  motor  ambulances  were 
equipped  and  sent  to  France  and  one  to  Siberia. 
Money  received  totaled  $163,093.81. 

The  British  War  Relief  Association,  542  Fifth 
Ave.,  New  York  City,  was  formed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  aiding  the  hospitals  and  relief  stations  in 
England,  France  and  Belgium.  It  has  collected  for 
the  purchase  of  hospital  supplies,  clothing,  surgi- 
cal dressings,  etc.,  more  than  $100,000  and  has  han- 
dled materials  donated  to  the  estimated  value  of 
more  than  $123,000.  It  has  no  direct  branches  but 
receives  supplies  from  60  groups  of  workers.  The 
active  membership  is  approximately  1,000,  and  its 
donors  number  more  than  3,000.  The  British  War 
Relief  Association  was  the  first  War  Relief  Associa- 
tion incorporated  in  New  York  City.  It  had  shipped 
up  to  October  1,  1917,  6,150  cases  of  hospital  sup- 
plies, including  ambulances,  ether,  knitted  goods,  rub- 
ber goods,  surgical  dressings,  and  clothing.  Mrs. 
Oliver  Herford  is  vice  president  of  the  Association 
and  Mr.  W^alter  Mulliner  is  secretary. 

Mrs.  Fiske  Warren  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Chelsea  War  Refugees  Fund  in  London.  The 
first  appeal  for  j^arn  to  be  sent  abroad  for  the  em- 
ployment and  support  of  Belgian  men  and  women 
refugees  was  received  in  this  country  in  December, 

491 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

1914,  and  six  small  cases  of  yarn  were  the  first  ship- 
ment to  be  distributed.  The  work  in  this  country  for 
this  fund  has  steadily  grown  and  has  been  aided  by 
lectures  by  Mrs.  Hamilton  Osgood  and  through  war 
postal  sales  conducted  throughout  the  country. 
About  3,000  pounds  of  yarn  are  used  every  month, 
and  the  British  War  Office  has  contracted  for  every 
pair  of  socks  that  the  Belgians  can  knit.  The  profits 
go  to  maintain  a  workroom  for  over  1,400  Belgian 
women.  It  is  hoped  to  use  contributions  in  the  fu- 
ture for  the  maintenance  of  the  knitting  industry  in 
Belgium  itself.  For  many  crippled  and  half -blinded 
men  this  will  form  the  only  employment  to  which  they 
can  look  forward  for  a  livelihood.  Total  receipts 
from  the  United  States  have  reached  more  than 
$70,000,  all  of  which  has  been  expended  for  yarn  and 
machines  unless  otherwise  designated.  There  have 
also  been  many  gifts  of  yarn,  totaling  about  77,000 
pounds  in  all. 

The  American  Committee  known  as  Lord  Charles 
Beresford's  Fund,  25  Broad  St.,  New  York  City, 
has  nearly  800  branches.  Its  purpose  is  to  sup- 
ply fresh  fruits  and  vegetables  to  the  fleets  of 
the  Allies  and  to  the  naval  hospitals.  Over  20,- 
000,000  pounds  of  fruits  and  vegetables  have  been 
distributed  in  this  manner.  It  also  distributes  to 
army  camps  and  depots  and  is  now  distributing 
fruits  and  vegetables  to  the  American  Fleet,  cooper- 
ating with  the  British  and  French.  Many  American 
firms  have  given  large  contributions  of  these  sup- 
plies. The  Committee  has  the  recognition  and  sup- 
port of  the  British  Admiralty  and  the  British  War 
Office. 

492 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

Lady  Colebrooke  is  American  chairman  for  Lady 
Helmsley's  Fund  in  London.  This  Charity,  organ- 
ized by  Lady  Helmsley,  is  in  aid  of  artists  of  the 
musical  and  dramatic  professions  suffering  through 
the  war.  It  has  three  main  objects.  One  is  to  pro- 
vide paid  engagements  for  dramatic  and  musical  art- 
ists in  straightened  circumstances,  another  is  to  en- 
courage British  music,  and  the  third  is  to  provide 
high-class  free  concerts  for  wounded  soldiers  and  sail- 
ors in  hospitals  in  and  near  London.  Since  the  for- 
mation of  the  Committee  in  November,  1914,  more 
than  550  concerts  have  been  given  resulting  in  4,000 
engagemnts  and  payments  to  artists  of  more  than 
$22,500. 

The  London  Motor  Volunteer  Corps  has  for  its  pur- 
pose the  assistance  of  soldiers  arriving  in  London  on 
their  return  from  the  trenches,  and  protects  them 
from  being  preyed  upon  by  the  unscrupulous.  The 
London  Motor  Volunteer  Corps  meets  all  night  trains 
and  welcomes  returning  sailors  and  soldiers,  who  are 
taken  to  their  destinations  in  motor  transports  or  to 
shelters  provided  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  Church  of 
England  and  the  Catholic  Church,  where  they  are 
cared  for  during  the  night.  The  same  work  is  to  be 
done  for  American  soldiers  and  it  is  hoped  to  raise 
funds  for  as  many  busses  as  possible,  each  costing 
$1,700,  to  be  grouped  in  units  of  six,  each  unit  to  be 
marked  "The  American  Squadron." 

The  American  Auxiliary  of  the  Women's  National 
Health  Association  of  Ireland  has  its  headquarters  in 
New  York,  No.  10  East  43rd  St.  The  Marchioness 
of  Aberdeen  and  Temair  is  president,  and  I\Iiss 
Marie    E.    Keating    is    secretary.     The    Association 

493 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

was  formed  in  1907  to  promote  health  and  hap- 
piness in  the  homes  of  Ireland,  and  especially  to 
combat  tuberculosis  and  infant  mortality.  For 
the  purpose  of  promoting  the  child  welfare 
work  of  the  Association  in  this  country  the  fol- 
lowing ladies  are  cooperating:  Mrs.  Joseph  H. 
Choate,  Mrs.  James  W.  Wadsworth,  Jr.,  Mrs.  William 
Seward  Webb,  Mrs.  John  Hays  Hammond,  Mrs.  Rich- 
ard C.  Cabot,  and  Mrs.  Willard  D.  Straight. 

The  Scottish  Highlanders'  Relief  Association  of 
Highland  Societies  in  Edinburgh  has  its  American 
headquarters  at  360  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 
City,  and  the  organization  has  the  hearty  support 
of  the  Saint  Andrews'  Society  of  New  York  and  its 
officials.  The  Fund  has  been  formed  for  providing 
comforts  for  the  men  of  the  Highlands  Scottish  Regi- 
ments, for  training  disabled  soldiers  of  these  regi- 
ments, to  fit  them  for  agricultural  and  other  pursuits. 
The  Association  has  helped  to  establish  a  farm  col- 
ony in  the  North  of  Scotland,  where  disabled  men  of 
the  Highland  Regiments,  returning  from  the  front, 
are  provided,  not  only  with  a  home  but  with  necessary 
instructions  to  enable  them  later  to  become  self-sup- 
porting. The  Association  also  seeks  to  relieve  dis- 
tress among  the  families  of  the  soldiers. 

The  Shamrock  Fund  originated  with  Mr.  Goodfel- 
low  who  donated  a  home  in  Dublin  for  the  benefit  of 
Irish  soldiers  disabled  by  the  war.  *' Thirteen  hun- 
dred of  them  have  already  come  home,"  says  the  ap- 
peal. *'Some  have  lost  arms,  some  legs;  there  are 
men  totally  or  partially  paralyzed  and  many  whose 
nerves  will  never  recover  the  effects  of  poison 
gas  and  shell  shot,  to  say  nothing  of  tuberculosis  and 

494 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

other  diseases  contracted  in  the  trenches.  These  men 
can  never  return  to  their  former  occupations.  They 
must  be  taught  new  trades  and  given  a  fresh  start  in 
life.''  The  home  in  Dublin  will  accommodate  150 
men  and  has  workshops  annexed  in  which  they  will  be 
taught  tailoring,  boot  making,  carpentry,  electric 
work,  motor  mechanism,  shorthand,  typewriting, 
bookkeeping,  etc.  As  each  man  completes  his  train- 
ing he  will  return  to  his  own  part  of  the  country  with 
a  fresh  grasp  on  life  to  carry  on  his  trade.  The 
Countess  of  Kingston  is  organizing  this  Fund  in 
America  and  has  offices  at  39  East  58th  Street,  New 
York  City.     Miss  Mary  Dougherty  is  secretary. 

About  two-thirds  of  the  Kingdom  of  Roumania  has 
been  occupied  by  the  enemy;  towns  and  villages  have 
been  burned,  women,  old  men  and  children  have  been 
murdered.  German  armies  have  seized  the  food  sup- 
plies of  that  part  of  Roumania  within  their  jurisdic- 
tion and  little  could  be  done  to  help  the  unfortunates 
there,  but  many  thousands  fled  to  what  is  left  of  free 
Koumania,  with  barely  clothes  on  their  backs,  and 
these  were  without  shelter  and  without  food.  In 
order  to  relieve  this  distress  as  far  as  possible,  the 
Roumanian  Relief  Committee  of  America  was  formed 
under  the  patronage  of  her  Majesty,  Queen  Marie  of 
Roumania.  The  funds  raised  in  America  go  to  the 
relief  of  both  the  refugees  and  the  wounded  and  the 
sick  soldiers  and  are  expended  in  purchasing  food, 
clothing  and  medical  supplies,  which  the  Roumanian 
Government  will  forward  free  of  cost.  Supplies  are 
distributed  under  the  direct  authority  of  the  Queen 
of  Roumania,  to  whom  all  goods  are  consigned. 

The  New  England-Italian  War  Relief  Fund  was 
495 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

organized  in  1915  for  relieving  the  distress  of  non- 
combatant  Italians.  A  workshop  has  been  maintained 
in  Boston  where  wives  of  reservists  have  been  em- 
ployed in  making  socks  and  clothing  for  the  Italian 
hospitals  at  the  front,  and  are  paid  for  the  work 
they  do.  A  stock  of  supplies  of  wool,  anaesthetics, 
etc.,  was  sent  direct  to  Italy,  and  several  hundred 
women  and  children  have  been  provided  for.  Ap- 
proximately $45,000  was  raised  in  less  than  two  years, 
and  more  than  19,000  articles  have  been  completed 
and  forwarded  to  Italy.  Mrs.  Henry  L.  Mason  is 
secretary  of  the  fund  and  Mrs.  George  Lee  is  chair- 
man. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

RELIEF  FOR  POLAND  AND  RUSSIA 

PoIand^s  pathetic  appeal — Madame  Helena  Paderewski 
joins  her  husband  in  relief  for  native  land — Polish 
Central  Relief—Americans  seek  to  relieve  distress  in 
Russia — Lithuanian  War  Relief  Committee — Armenian 
and  Syrian  Relief— Serbian  Relief  Committee. 

No  APPEAL  has  seemed  to  strike  more  deeply  into 
the  great,  sympathetic  heart  of  America  than  that  of 
war-stricken  Poland,  where  all  the  children  under 
seven  years  of  age  have  died ;  where  a  territory  filled 
with  people  at  peace  with  all  the  world  was  sud- 
denly transformed  into  one  great  battlefield  of  tramp- 
ing millions;  where  300  towns,  and  over  2,000 
churches  consecrated  to  peace,  love,  and  the  worship 
of  God,  are  in  ashes;  where  14,000,000  people  have 
died  since  the  war  began.  These  tragic  facts  have 
been  brought  home  to  the  people  of  America  by  the 
great  Paderewski,  who  founded  the  National  Amer- 
ican Committee  for  the  Polish  Victims'  Relief  Fund. 
Mr.  Paderewski  frequently  reminded  us  that  on  No- 
vember 5,  1916,  Germany  and  Austria  offered  free- 
dom and  independence  to  those  parts  of  devastated 
Poland  which  they  had  reconquered  from  Russia ;  and 
in  exchange  for  its  liberation  the  miniature  Kingdom 
of  Poland  was  to  contribute  1,012,000  volunteer 
soldiers  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Central  Powers ;  and 

497 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

that  this  magnanimous  and  strategic  ruse  resulted  in 
utter  failure — only  680  men,  half  of  them  former  con- 
victs, having  responded  to  Germany's  call  to  arms 
and,  according  to  reports,  30,000  Poles  were  hanged 
for  refusing  to  enlist.  Mr.  Paderewski  reminded  us 
also  that,  although  politically  inexistent,  Poland  has 
contributed  to  the  cause  of  the  Allies  more  soldiers 
than  either  Poland  or  Servia;  1,300,000  to  the  Rus- 
sian Army,  7,000  to  the  French  Army,  2,000  to  the 
Canadian  Army,  and  in  response  to  the  appeal  of 
President  Wilson,  the  Poles  in  the  United  States  of- 
fered this  Government  100,000  volunteer  soldiers  and 
500  officers.  It  is  not  surprising  that  such  an  appeal 
from  a  man  who  has  made  tremendous  personal  sacri- 
fices should  have  reached  America's  heart,  and  that 
the  contributions  for  Polish  relief  work  have  been 
substantial  ones. 

Of  special  interest  to  American  women  will  be 
the  work  of  Madame  Paderewski,  who  has  con- 
secrated her  life  to  the  work  of  relief  in  her  be- 
loved and  devastated  land.  Madame  Paderewski 
while  in  Paris  late  in  1915  conceived  the  idea  of  sell- 
ing dolls  for  the  benefit  of  the  Polish  Relief  Fund. 
These  wonderful  dolls  are  made  by  the  Polish  refu- 
gees in  Paris — artists,  sculptors,  writers — all  people 
of  talent  and  many  of  them  well-known ;  hy  engaging 
them  to  make  the  dolls  Madame  Paderewski  has  not 
only  been  able  to  provide  support  for  these  gifted 
workers,  but  she  has  been  able  to  raise  in  this  way 
more  than  $25,000,  having  sold  about  10,000  dolls. 
Her  doll  atelier  in  Paris  has  been  a  refuge  for  all 
sorts  of  people,  professors  of  universities,  newspaper 
men,  lawyers,  blind  and  maimed  soldiers,  children, 

498 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

all  have  found  bread  and  shelter  until  a  better  oppor- 
tunity presented  itself.  *'I  am  very  happy,"  said 
Madame  Paderewski,  *'that  because  of  these  dolls  the 
flower  of  Polish  youth  has  been  able  to  survive  and 
the  lives  of  many  Polish  babies  have  been  saved." 
But  there  is  a  much  more  important  work  now  to 
which  Madame  Paderewski  is  devoting  her  life.  This 
is  an  American  refuge  for  suffering  womanhood — a 
home  for  Polish  girls  in  Warsaw,  Poland.  Of  this 
work  Madame  Paderewski  says,  *'More  than  five  hun- 
dred thousand  young  girls  of  my  country,  Poland, 
have  had  their  lives  shattered  by  the  greatest  tragedy 
that  can  come  to  a  woman.  Victims  of  the  conquer- 
ing and  retiring  armies  that  have  incessantly  swept 
over  Poland  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  these  un- 
fortunate young  mothers,  the  majority  of  whose  babies 
have  died  for  want  of  food,  clothing  and  shelter,  find 
themselves  outcasts — helpless,  alone.  They  come  from 
all  classes.  That  which  made  them  the  most  pitiable 
of  war  victims  does  not  respect  rank  nor  recognize 
virtue.  Their  physical  suffering,  unspeakably  severe 
as  it  has  been,  is  exceeded  by  mental  agony  that  in- 
creases with  the  realization  of  their  condition  as  they 
face  the  future.  A  home  must  be  provided  for  these 
unfortunate  ones.  They  must  be  put  into  an  atmos- 
phere of  hope  and  courage.  From  this  center,  as  an 
outgrowth,  other  branch  institutions  similar  in  aim 
and  character,  but  entirely  self-supporting  will  be  es- 
tablished in  Galicia,  Lithuania  and  all  over  Poland. 
By  this  means  I  hope  not  only  to  give  aid  to  my  needy 
countrywomen  but  through  them  to  revive  the  an- 
cient arts  for  which  Poland  has  been  so  justly  famous, 
including  tapestry  weaving,    lace    making,  metallic 

499 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

and  silken  embroidery,  wood  carving  and  the  world  fa- 
mous art  products  of  Zakopane.  Sympathy  is  the 
sweetest  gift  God  has  given  to  our  sex,  and  I  am  sure 
American  women  will  devise  ways  and  means  at  once 
to  have  a  share  in  this  noble  work. ' ' 

The  Polish  Central  Relief  Committee  of  America, 
was  founded  shortly  after  the  outbreak  of  the 
war,  October  2,  1914.  ''This,"  writes  one  of  the 
officers,  ' '  is  the  first  Polish  war  relief  organization,  not 
only  in  America,  but  also  in  the  world,  as  the  General 
Committee  for  Polish  Relief  in  Vevey  was  organized 
later,  on  January  9,  1915. 

''Upon  organization  of  the  Committee  at  Vevey,  the 
Polish  Central  Relief  Committee  of  America  im- 
mediately, upon  invitation,  joined  this  organization 
as  a  branch  committee  for  work  in  America  and 
named  its  representatives  thereto,  recognizing  the 
Vevey  Committee  as  the  central  organization  for  Pol- 
ish war  relief  in  the  world. 

' '  The  real  branch  agency  of  the  General  Committee 
for  Polish  Relief  of  Vevey  and  central  agency  for 
Polish  relief  work  in  America,  is  therefore,  the 
Polish  Central  Relief  Committee  of  America  with  of- 
fices in  Chicago,  embracing  all  the  largest  and  most 
important  Polish  organizations  in  America,  namely: 
Polish  National  Alliance,  130,000;  Polish  Roman 
Catholic  Union,  115,000;  Polish  Clergy  Union,  800; 
Polish  Falcons  Alliance,  25,000;  Polish  Women's  Al- 
liance, 25,000;  Polish  Alma  Mater,  6,000;  Polish 
Association  of  America,  8,000 ;  Polish  Brotherhood  of 
St.  Joseph,  6,000;  Polish  Union  of  Buffalo,  15,000; 
Polish  Union  of  Wilkes-Barre,  15,000;  Alliance  of 
Poles  in  America,  8,000;  Polish  Uniformed  Societies 

500 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

of  America,  5,000;  and  Polish  Singers  Alliance, 
3,000.1 

"All  these  organizations  have  submitted  themselves, 
in  the  matter  of  war  relief,  to  the  direction  and  con- 
trol of  the  Polish  Central  Relief  Committee  of  Amer- 
ica, which,  on  the  other  hand,  holds  the  right  to  con- 
trol the  proper  distribution  of  funds  by  the  General 
Polish  Relief  Committtee  at  Vevey  through  its  repre- 
sentatives, and  receives  from  there  regular  reports 
as  to  this  distribution." 

The  relief  funds  collected  by  all  the  organizations 
constituting  the  Polish  Relief  Committee  of  America 
amount  to  about  $2,000,000 — of  which  the  largest 
sum,  around  $300,000,  was  collected  by  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  P.  C.  R.  C.  of  A. 

The  Polish  University  Grants  Committee  of  the 
Polish  Victims'  Relief  Fund  was  organized  in  the 
spring  of  1916  by  Madame  Jane  Arctowska  as  a  re- 
sult of  letters  received  from  Polish  friends  stating  the 
misery  existing  anv)ng  the  Polish  intellectuals  who 
were  refugees  and  without  a  means  of  livelihood  be- 
cause of  the  war,  and  the  great  need  there  was  of 
help. 

A  number  of  prominent  men  and  women  who  sym- 
pathized with  this  work  consented  to  serve  on  the 
committee  together  wdth  Madame  Pierre  Curie  and 
Mrs.  Robert  Bliss. 

At  the  beginning  all  money  collected  was  distrib- 
uted among  the  refugees,  but  as  soon  as  it  was  found 
that  help  could  be  extended  to  Poland  a  committee 
of  three  persons  was  formed  in  Warsaw  for  the  super- 
vision of  the  distribution  of  the  fund.     The  money 

1  Figures  indicate  membership. 
501 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

sent  to  Warsaw  is  taken  by  carrier  from  Switzerland 
and  in  this  way  more  than  $6,000  has  been  sent  into 
Poland.  This  fund  has  sent  to  Europe  more  than 
$16,000  of  which  $6,000  has  gone  into  Poland  and  the 
remaining  $10,000  has  been  distributed  by  the  Paris 
Committee  to  refugees  in  France,  Switzerland,  Hol- 
land and  Italy. 

Among  other  organizations  doing  relief  work  for 
Poland  are  the  following:  Friends  of  Poland,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. ;  Emergency  Aid  Committee,  Philadelphia ; 
Polish  Eelief  Committee,  Los  Angeles;  Polish  Suf- 
ferers' War  Relief  Fund,  Utica,  N.  Y.;  Polish  Relief 
Committee,  Rochester;  Polish  Victims'  Relief  Fund, 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pa. 

The  Russian  War  Relief  Committee  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  evidencing  the  long-existing  friend- 
ship of  Americans  for  Russia.  Starvation  upon  a 
scale  more  widespread  than  in  any  other  country,  be- 
cause of  the  immensity  of  its  population,  is  existent  in 
Russia.  Five  million  men,  women  and  children, 
driven  from  Poland  and  Galicia  into  the  provinces  of 
Russia,  were  without  food,  clothing  and  shelter,  in 
the  first  years  of  the  war,  and  there  was  also  a 
dangerous  dearth  of  hospital  supplies  and  equipment. 
It  was  to  aid  in  relieving  these  needs  that  the  Russian 
War  Relief  Committee  was  formed  to  support  the 
Wynne-Bevan  Ambulance  Unit.  Mrs.  William  Astor 
Chanler  has  been  prominently  identified  with  this 
work. 

The  American  Ambulance  in  Russia,  of  which  Miss 
Elsa  Maxwell  is  assistant  secretary  and  Miss  Ethel  D. 
Hamilton,  assistant  treasurer,  had  collected  up  to 
July,   1917,   approximately    $130,000    and    had    50 

502 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

American  ambulances  in  Russia  doing  active  service 
directly  behind  the  lines  in  the  foothills  of  the  Car- 
pathian Mountains.  In  the  fall  of  1917  the  commit- 
tee undertook  to  raise  sufficient  funds  to  install  a 
complete  American  Ambulance  Hospital  in  Russia  at 
a  cost  of  $200,000,  which  sum  was  required  to  estab- 
lish the  hospital  and  to  maintain  it  for  one  year.  The 
committee  has  sent  forward  large  quantities  of 
gauze,  bandages,  chloroform  and  other  hospital  sup- 
plies in  addition  to  the  ambulances,  and  Dr.  Philip 
Newton  was  sent  by  the  committee  to  Russia  as  Chief 
Surgeon  of  the  ambulance  units  operating  there. 
The  ambulances  have  been  endeavoring  to  care  for  the 
wounded  of  an  entire  army  corps  of  55,000  men,  and 
in  his  1917  report  Dr.  Newton  stated  that  every  time 
there  was  a  big  battle  the  unit  was  overwhelmed  and 
the  wounded  that  could  not  be  carried  in  the  am- 
bulances had  to  be  transported  in  carts  and  hay 
wagons.  During  one  battle  the  American  ambulances 
in  Russia  carried  over  2,200  wounded  soldiers  within 
a  period  of  six  days.  The  American  ambulance  in 
Russia  is  the  only  American  organization  working 
with  the  Russian  Army. 

The  Refugees  in  Russia  Fund  was  formed  to  succor 
the  millions  of  children  and  aged,  homeless  in  Russia, 
forced  to  flee  before  the  invading  armies.  The  dis- 
bursements of  money  collected  in  the  United  States 
are  supervised  by  a  committee  in  Petrograd  and  by 
Thomas  Whittimore,  who  represents  the  committee 
in  the  field  in  Russia. 

The  Lithuanian  Central  War  Relief  Committee 
was  organized  in  1916,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  for 
the  purpose  of  collecting  funds  and  clothing  for  the 

503 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

relief  of  Lithuanians  in  the  war-stricken  zone.  Its 
first  most  important  work  was  the  directing  of  the 
universal  ''Lithuanian  Day"  proclaimed  by  Presi- 
dent Wilson  as  November  1,  1916.  Shortly  after- 
ward, owing  to  its  rapid  growth,  the  Central  War  Re- 
lief Committee  moved  its  main  office  from  Wilkes- 
Barre  to  New  York  City,  where  it  also  overtook  the 
work  of  the  absolving  Lithuanian  American  Relief 
Committee.  With  a  system  of  branches,  in  charge  of 
volunteer  workers,  in  all  of  the  largest  cities  of  the 
Union  and  in  a  great  many  smaller  ones,  the  Lithua- 
nian Central  War  Relief  Committee  next  instituted  a 
monthly  subscription  plan  by  which  Lithuanians  in 
the  various  cities  are  enabled  to  contribute  a  small 
amount  per  month  toward  relief  of  their  kindred  in 
Europe. 

Later  the  Lithuanian  Central  War  Relief  Commit- 
tee established  close  relationship  with  the  Lithuanian 
relief  committee  in  Lithuania,  Switzerland,  Russia, 
and  Sweden.  With  information  received  from  these 
countries  explaining  the  situation  of  the  Lithuanian 
sufferers,  the  Lithuanian  Central  War  Relief  Commit- 
tee has  successfully  carried  on  its  work  of  relief 
through  monthly  subscriptions  and  various  other  do- 
nations raised  by  means  of  fairs,  bazaars,  balls,  and 
other  benefits.  These  European  organizations  have 
also  sent  their  representatives  to  this  country,  and 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Lithuanian  Central  War 
Relief  Committee  these  men  have  collected  large 
amounts  of  money  for  the  ever-increasing  number  of 
Lithuanian  orphans,  widows  and  crippled  soldiers  in 
the  various  European  allied  or  neutral  countries. 

A  junior  league  has  been  formed  to  which  belong 
504 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

all  children  who  donate  a  small  monthly  sum  to  the 
fund  for  orphan  children. 

Among  the  prominent  men  interested  in  the  organi- 
zation are  M.  Yeas,  member  of  the  former  Russian 
Duma  and  at  present  vice  president  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Education  in  Russia;  Dr.  J.  Basanavieius, 
president  of  the  Society  of  Science,  Vilna;  and  Dr. 
J.  Szliupas,  leader  of  the  American  Lithuanians. 

From  November  1,  1816,  to  October,  1917,  the  total 
of  the  donations  received  by  the  Lithuanian  Central 
AVar  Relief  Committee  amounted  to  $193,065.56. 

The  executive  board  consists  of:  President,  J.  S. 
Lopatto ;  treasurer,  M.  W.  Bush ;  vice  president,  V.  F. 
Yankovsky;  vice  president,  P.  S.  Vilmont;  secre- 
tary, V.  K.  Rackauskas;  executive  secretary,  V.  Ven- 
cius. 

The  American  Committee  for  Armenian  and  Syrian 
relief  was  formed  in  October,  1915,  and  in  less  than 
two  years  total  contributions  aggregated  $3,400,00. 
The  purpose  of  the  committee  has  been  to  save  the 
lives  of  the  members  of  the  Christian  Races  threatened 
with  extermination  through  the  war  in  Western  Asia. 
Many  base  relief  hospitals  have  been  established  at 
various  centers,  from  which  help  has  been  distributed 
through  wide  areas.  In  the  Russian  Caucasus,  thou- 
sands of  orphaned  children  are  under  the  care  of 
agents  of  the  organization.  The  committee  has  solic- 
ited funds  to  support  these  children  at  a  cost  of  three 
dollars  per  month  per  capita,  and  is  also  aiding  older 
people.  All  contributions  have  gone  directly  for  re- 
lief in  Western  Asia,  the  expense  of  administration 
having  been  met  privately.  Many  auxiliary  branches 
have  been  organizing  through  the  United  States,  the 

505 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

aim  being  to  have  a  branch  in  every  state  in  the 
Union.  Many  people  bought  liberty  bonds  and  do- 
nated them  to  this  fund,  and  at  a  Billy  Sunday  meet- 
ing held  in  New  York  City  $120,000  was  subscribed. 
While  this  committee  was  not  organized  by  women, 
nor  do  they  take  chief  part  in  the  administrative 
part  of  the  work,  many  women  are  rendering  splendid 
service  at  the  relief  centers  abroad,  in  the  Russian 
Caucasus  and  even  in  Syria  and  Turkey.  The  ma- 
jority of  relief  given  by  the  committee  is  to  w^omen 
refugees  and  their  children.  Among  the  various 
committees  in  this  country  engaged  in  raising  relief 
funds  there  are  several  women  of  marked  ability. 
These  are  missionaries  who  have  spent  many  years 
in  the  East  but  who  were  forced  home  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war. 

Nothing  in  the  thrilling  story  of  American  relief 
work  is  more  filled  with  heart-interest  than  is  the  rec- 
ord of  achievement  of  the  Serbian  Relief  Committee 
of  America.  The  committee  was  formed  in  1914, 
and  in  March,  1915,  the  sum  of  $20,000  was  cabled  to 
Serbia  for  seed  corn  and  flour  for  replanting  the 
district  devastated  by  the  unsuccessful  Austrian  in- 
vasion of  the  previous  autumn.  This  was  followed 
with  a  shipment  of  1,000  American  plows,  harrows 
and  hand  tools,  and  $30,000  worth  of  clothing  for  the 
needy,  including  148,000  yards  of  material  for  cloth- 
ing and  bedding,  80  sewing  machines,  200,000  needles, 
5,000  spools  of  thread,  and  200  pounds  of  pins. 
When  these  things  arrived  the  farmers  were  all  at  the 
Front,  but  the  women  planted  the  fields  and  the  crop 
was  good.  The  Serbian  Government  sent  its  warmest 
thanks  for  the  excellent  ''foreign  tools,"  and  for  the 

506 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

generosity  that  prompted  them.  It  was  then  that 
the  typhus  epidemic  swept  over  the  country,  bring- 
ing its  untold  misery,  and  the  contributions  to  the 
anti-typhus  campaign  amounted  to  more  than  $68,- 
000.  No  sooner  was  the  typhus  overcome,  and  the 
nation  convalescent,  than  Serbia  was  invaded  simul- 
taneously by  Germany,  Bulgaria  and  Austria.  Help 
was  promised  by  the  Allies  but,  unfortunately,  it 
could  not  be  given  in  time,  and  the  Serbian  Army, 
fighting  and  retreating  with  a  strategy  that  will  be 
deathless  in  history,  accompanied  by  all  the  popula- 
tion who  could  march,  retired  over  the  snow-clad 
mountains  of  Albania  and  Montenegro,  till  the  sea 
barred  their  further  retreat.  They  were  then  in  a 
destitute  country,  without  food,  exhausted,  and  dying 
by  hundreds.  Again  the  Serbian  Relief  Committee 
of  America  and  its  associates  chartered  a  small  ship, 
and  removed  as  many  of  them  as  possible,  continuing 
the  work  until  the  Allied  Governments  were  able  to 
take  it  up.  The  Committee's  share  of  this  expense 
was  $11,000.  The  sick  were  taken  to  Corsica  where 
the  Scottish  Women's  Hospital  did  excellent  work 
for  them.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Com- 
mittee Mrs.  Farnam  and  Miss  Burke  raised  a  fund  of 
over  $30,000  for  this  work.  Those  who  were  physi- 
cally able  to  go  were  taken  to  France,  where  the  Com- 
mittee contributed  for  the  work  $1,000.  Two  later 
appropriations  amounting  to  $59,000  were  for  food 
for  the  poor  in  Serbia. 

This  Commission  is  authorized  by  the  Teuton  and 
Bulgar  Military  Government.  Supplies  are  pur- 
chased in  Roumania  at  a  fair  rate,  and  are  easily  for- 
warded by  a    short    railway    journey   to    Belgrade, 

507 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

where  they  are  received  by  the  Commission  and  dis- 
tributed exclusively  by  them.  What  makes  this  par- 
ticularly interesting  to  Americans  is  that  the  Swiss- 
Serbian  Relief  Committee,  as  well  as  all  Serbian  relief 
committees  in  existence,  are  uniting  in  sending  their 
help  through  the  Americans.  Thus  America  stands 
as  a  leader  in  this  great  work. 

The  Serbian  Relief  Committee  of  America  was 
formed  with  the  sanction  of  the  Royal  Serbian  Gov- 
ernment and  is  under  the  patronage  of  Her  Royal 
Highness,  Princess  Helen  of  Serbia,  Madame  Jus- 
serand,  Madame  Bakhmeteff,  Lady  Spring  Rice,  and 
the  Honorable  Consul  General  of  Serbia,  M.  I.  Pupin, 
LL.D.,  Sc.  D.  The  president  of  the  organization  is 
Charles  W.  Eliot,  LL.D.  M.D.,  Ph.  D.,  M.A.,  and 
among  the  American  women  who  have  been 
prominently  identified  with  the  work  are  Mrs. 
Whitelaw  Reid,  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Fairchild, 
Mrs.  W.  S.  Cowles,  Mrs.  F.  W.  Whitbridge, 
Mrs.  Douglas  Robinson,  Mrs.  Robert  P.  Huntington, 
Mrs.  H.  H.  Jenkins,  Mrs.  Robert  Burnside  Potter, 
Mrs.  Alfred  Coats,  Mrs.  Goodhue  Livingston,  Mrs.  T. 
Tileston  Wells,  Mrs.  John  Henry  Hammond,  Mrs. 
George  S.  Brewster,  Mrs.  Breck  Trowbridge,  Mrs. 
Thomas  Jex  Preston,  Princess  Peirre  Troubetskoy, 
Miss  Annie  B.  Jennings,  Mrs.  L.  H.  McCormick,  and 
Mrs.  R.  S.  Pierrepont.  The  organization  has  head- 
quarters at  70  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

The  Serbian  Hospitals'  Fund,  through  which  so 
much  that  is  generous  and  beautiful  has  been  done, 
was  conceived  and  organized  by  Madame  Slavko 
Grovitch.  Since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  she  has  de- 
voted herself  to  relief  work  for  Serbia.    In  August, 

508 


WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

1914,  she  took  a  party  of  nurses  and  hospital  equip- 
ment with  her  to  Serbia,  and  herself  assisted  in  the 
work  of  the  hospital  where  they  were  installed.  In 
January,  1915,  Madame  Groviteh  arrived  in  America 
and,  with  the  help  of  friends  organized  the  Serbian 
Agricultural  Relief  Committee  (70  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York  City)  now  called  the  Serbian  Relief 
Committee,  for  which  she  raised  over  $100,000; 
a  Serbian  Relief  Committee  in  New  Haven, 
under  the  leadership  of  Professor  Beebe  of  Yale 
University;  the  Serbian  Distress  Fund  of  Bos- 
ton, of  which  Dr.  Morton  Prince  is  chairman. 
Madame  Groviteh  then  made  a  lecture  tour  of  some 
months,  speaking  in  most  of  the  large  cities  and  or- 
ganizing committees  in  various  places. 

In  July,  1915,  she  returned  to  Serbia  where  she 
established  the  Mabel  Groviteh  Baby  Hospital  with 
funds  contributed  in  America  by  personal  friends. 
She  was  accompanied  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Shelley  of 
Washington. 

Later,  Madame  Groviteh  made  the  historic  retreat 
across  Albania  after  the  invasion  of  Serbia  by  the 
Austro-German  army.  After  arriving  in  Greece  and 
finding  there  many  women  and  children  of  the  better 
classes  living  in  great  poverty,  she  decided  to  collect 
a  special  fund  for  their  relief.  On  her  return  to  the 
United  States  in  March,  1917,  she  founded  the  Ser- 
bian Hospitals'  Fund,  at  the  same  time  carrying  on 
her  Fund  for  the  Serbian  Families.  The  total 
amount  collected  for  the  Fund  through  the  lectures 
and  appeals  of  Madame  Groviteh  is  approximately 
$104,000  since  March,  1916. 

In  April,  1917,  Madame  Groviteh  went  to  Berne, 
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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

as  her  husband  is  stationed  there  as  Serbian  minister 
to  Switzerland.  She  has  been  personally  engaged  in 
the  work  of  distributing  relief  to  the  refugee  families 
there,  to  Serbian  students  in  France  and  Switzerland, 
and  also  the  prisoners  of  war  both  in  Austria  and 
Germany,  and  those  interned  in  Switzerland  and 
France. 

She  returned  to  America  in  November  to  continue 
her  work.  In  addition  to  continuing  the  Fund  for 
Students  and  Families,  Madame  Grovitch  came  also 
as  the  special  delegate  of  the  Swiss-American  Com- 
mittee for  the  Relief  of  Allied  Prisoners  of  War  in- 
terned in  Switzerland.  She  conducted  the  Serbian 
booth  at  the  Allied  Bazaar,  ''Hero  Land,"  and  also 
an  exhibit  sent  on  by  the  Swiss-American  Committee 
of  Articles  made  by  the  allied  prisoners  of  war  in- 
terned in  Switzerland  and  France. 

Even  the  animals  have  not  been  forgotten  in  the 
war  relief  work  of  American  women.  Mrs.  Elphin- 
stone  Maitland  is  at  the  head  of  what  is  known  as  the 
Blue  Cross  Fund,  designed  to  help  suffering  horses  in 
war  time.  Mrs.  Maitland  is  also  chairman  of  ''Our 
Dumb  Friends'  League,"  a  society  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  kindness  to  animals.  It  is  interesting  to 
know  that  dogs  are  being  used  in  many  ways  in  the 
war,  including  sentinels,  despatch  carriers,  ammuni- 
tion guards,  to  seek  out  wounded,  as  convoys,  etc. 
The  dogs  must  first  undergo  an  examination  before  a 
board  with  a  special  jury.  If  they  are  accepted  for 
service  they  are  placed  in  centers  for  instruction, 
preparation  and  training.  They  are  intrusted  with 
experienced  trainers  who  make  them  familiar  with 
their  positions  as  soldiers,  and  they  are  taught  cour- 

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WAR  RELIEF  ORGANIZATIONS 

age,  discipline,  sangfroid,  prudence  and  dispatch. 
It  is  only  after  a  long  course  in  these  schools  that  the 
dogs  are  sent  to  the  front  for  active  service. 

As  sentinels  the  dogs  are  used  in  the  trenches.  It 
is  said  that  some  dogs  have  saved  whole  companies  of 
infantry  in  time  of  fog  by  showing  by  their  growling 
the  near  presence  of  German  forces.  They  carry  or- 
ders and  instructions  from  one  unit  to  another  across 
country  exposed  to  shell  fire,  and  they  go  swiftly 
through  places  inaccessible  to  man.  One  dog  had  its 
jaw  broken  while  on  such  a  mission,  but  in  spite  of 
the  wound  it  carried  the  message  to  its  destination. 
Ambulance  dogs  are  required  to  discover  the  wounded 
and  to  find  the  ambulances.  They  carry  to  the  latter 
the  cap  of  the  wounded  man  or  some  object  indicat- 
ing the  unit  to  which  he  belongs.  The  Blue  Cross 
has  established  canine  infirmaries  for  these  dogs.  It 
gathers  together  the  wounded,  the  deaf,  the  physically 
overridden  and  those  suffering  from  other  diseases. 
The  society  has  founded  kennels  at  the  base  and  at 
the  front.  The  former  are  close  to  the  training  cen- 
ters and  the  latter  are  with  the  armies.  Each  estab- 
lishment consists  of  a  certified  veterinary  surgeon, 
several  attendants  and  grooms.  The  Blue  Cross  War 
Dog  Service  depends  entirely  upon  voluntary  sub- 
scriptions. 


PART  IV 

A  DIRECTORY  OF  LEADING  WOMEN'S 
ORGANIZATIONS  DOING  DEFENSE  WORK. 


DIRECTORY 

GENERAL  OFFICERS 

DIVISION  OF  WOMEN'S  WAR  WORK  OF  THE 
COMIVHTTEE  ON  PUBLIC  INFORMATION, 
No.  10  Jackson  Place,  Washington,  D.  C. — A 
Bureau  of  general  information  concerning  all 
phases  of  women's  work  in  war,  data,  personnel, 
etc.,  Clara  Sears  Taylor,  director. 

WOMAN'S  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF 
NATIONAL  DEFENSE,  National  Headquar- 
ters,  1814  N  Street,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Dr.  Anna  Howard  Shaw,  Chairman. 

Miss  Hannah  J.  Patterson,  Chairman  Committee  on 
Registration. 

Mrs.  Stanley  McCormick,  Chairman  Committee  on 
Food  Production  and  Home  Economics. 

Miss  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  Chairman  Committee  on  Food 
Administration. 

Miss  Agnes  Nestor,  Chairman  Committee  on  Women 
in  Industry. 

Mrs.  Josiah  Evans  Cowles,  Chairman  Committee  on 
Child  Welfare. 

Mrs.  Philip  North  Moore,  Chairman  Committee  on 
Maintenance  of  Exisiting  Social  Service  Agen- 
cies. 

Mrs.  Philip  North  Moore,  Chairman  Committee  on 
515 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Health  and  Recreation  (Safe^arding  Moral  and 

Spiritual  Forces). 
Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman  Catt,  Chairman  Committee 

on  Education. 
Mrs.  Antoinette  Funk,    Chairman    Committee    on 

Liberty  Loan. 
Miss  Maude  Wetmore,   Chairman   Committee    on 

Home  and  Foreign  Relief. 
Mrs.  Joseph  R.  Lamar,  Chairman  Committee  on 

State  Organization. 
Miss  Hannah  J.  Patterson,  Resident  Director. 

AMERICAN  RED  CROSS,  National  Headquarters, 
Washington,  D.  C,  Women's  Bureau,  Miss  Flor- 
ence M.  Marshall,  Director.  All  women's  work 
done  for  the  Red  Cross,  except  nursing,  including 
the  making  of  surgical  dressings,  hospital  sup- 
plies and  garments,  and  knit  goods  and  comfort 
kits,  is  standardized,  supervised,  instructed  and 
inspected  by  this  Bureau. 

Bureau  of  Nursing,  Miss  Jane  A.  Delano,  Director, 
Miss  Clara  D.  Noyes,  Assistant. 

Division  Directors  op  Women's  Work,  Atlantic 
Division  (Connecticut,  New  York  and  New 
Jersey)  Miss  Ellen  L.  Adee;  Central  Divi- 
sion (Illinois,  Iowa,  Michigan,  Nebraska,  Wis- 
consin) Miss  Ina  Taft,  180  N.  Wabash  St., 
Chicago,  111.;  Gulf  Division,  (Alabama,  Louisi- 
ana, Mississippi),  Mrs.  E.  E.  Moberley;  Lake 
Division  (Indiana,  Ohio,  Kentucky)  Mrs.  H.  L. 
Sanford,  929  Garfield  Bldg.,  Cleveland,  Ohio; 
516 


DIRECTORY 

Mountain  Division  (Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Utah, 
Wyoming),  Mr.  Henry  Swan,  14th  and  Welton 
Streets,  Denver,  Colo. ;  New  England  Division, 
(Maine,  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  Rhode 
Island,  Vermont),  Miss  Lavina  II.  Newell,  755 
Boylston  Street,  Boston,  Mass.;  Northern  Divi- 
sion (Minnesota,  Montana,  North  Dakota,  South 
Dakota)  Mrs.  F.  L.  Fridley,  Essex  Bldg.,  Minne- 
apolis, Minn.;  Northwestern  Division  (Idaho, 
Oregon,  Washington),  Lucy  C.  Hilton,  227  White 
Bldg.,  Seattle,  Wash.;  Pacific  Division  (Arizona, 
California,  Nevada)  Mrs.  A.  L.  McLeish;  Penn- 
sylvania Division,  Mrs.  J.  Willis  Martin,  1601 
Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia;  Potomac  Division 
(District  of  Columbia,  Maryland,  Virginia,  West 
Virginia)  Mrs.  F.  M.  Chapman,  930  14th  Street, 
Washington,  D.  C. ;  Southern  Division  (Florida, 
Georgia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Tennes- 
see) Mrs.  John  W.  Grant,  424  Healy  Bldg., 
Atlanta,  Ga. ;  Southwestern  Division  (Arkansas, 
Kansas,  Missouri,  Oklahoma,  Texas)  Mrs.  Ed- 
mund F.  Brown,  1617  Railway  Exchange,  St. 
Louis,  Mo. 

GENERAL  FEDERATION  OF  WOMEN'S  CLUBS. 

Mrs.    Josiah    Evans  Cowles,  president,  Los   Ange- 
les, California. 

Miss  Georgia  A.  Bacon,  first  vice  president,  Wor- 
cester, Mass. 

Mrs.  Eugene  Reilley,  second  vice  president,  Char- 
lotte, N.  C. 

Mrs.  W.  I.  McFarland,  recording  secretary,  Wag- 
ner, S.  D. 

517 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Mrs.  Francis  D.  Everett,  corresponding  secretary, 
Highland  Park,  111. 

Mrs.  William  B.  Young,  treasurer,  Jacksonville, 
Fla. 

Mrs.  William  P.  Harper,  auditor,  Seattle,  Wash. 

National  Service  Office,  Maryland  Bldg.,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  Miss  Helen  Louise  Johnston,  di- 
rector. 

DAUGHTERS  OF  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION— 

Mrs.  George  Thacher  Guernsey,  president  gen- 
eral. Memorial  Continental  Hall,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Mrs.  J.  F.  Maupin,  vice  president  general,  Ports- 
mouth, Va. 

Mrs.  Joseph  S.  Wood,  vice  president  general,  Mt. 
Vernon,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.  Eliza  Ferry  Leary,  vice  president  general, 
Seattle,  Wash. 

Mrs.  C.  B.  Letton,  vice  president  general,  Lin- 
coln, Nebraska. 

Mrs.  Edmund  P.  Moody,  vice  president  general, 
Wilmington,  Del. 

Mrs.  G.  Wallace  W.  Hanger,  vice  president  gen- 
eral, Washington,  D.  C. 

Mrs.  William  C.  Robinson,  vice  president  general, 
North  Anson,  Maine. 

Mrs.  George  Maynard  Minor,  vice  president  gen- 
eral, Waterford,  Conn. 

Mrs.  William  G.  Spencer,  vice  president  general, 
Nashville,  Tenn. 

Mrs.  William  Butterworth,  vice  president  general, 
Hillcrest,  Moline,  111. 

518 


DIRECTORY 

Mrs.  Harold  R.  Howell,  vice  president  general,  Des 

Moines,  Iowa. 
Mrs.  C.  Hamilton  Tebault,  vice  president  general, 

New  Orleans,  La. 
Mrs.  Alvin  V.  Lane,  vice  president  general,  Dallas, 

Texas. 
Mrs.  George  W.  Gedney,  vice    president    general, 

Montclair,  N.  J. 
Mrs.  James  Benton  Grant,  vice  president  general, 

Denver,  Colo. 
Mrs.  Fred  H.  H.  Calhoun,  vice  president  general, 

Clemson  College,  S.  C. 
Mrs.  Charles  E.  Longley,  vice  president    general, 

Pawtucket,  R.  I. 
Miss  Jeanie  D.  Blackburn,  vice  president  general. 

Bowling  Green,  Ky. 
Mrs.  Samuel  McKnight  Green,  vice  president  gen- 
eral, St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Mrs.  Sheppard  W.  Foster,  vice  president  general, 

Atlanta,  Ga. 
Mrs.  William  H.  Talbott,  vice  president  general, 

Kockville,  Md. 
Miss   Elizabeth  F.   Pierce,   chaplain  general,   The 

Portner  Apartments,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Miss  Emma  L.  Crowell,  recording  secretary  general. 
Mrs.  Duncan  U.  Fletcher,  organizing  secretary  gen- 
eral. 
Mrs.  Robert  J.  Johnston,  treasurer  general. 
Mrs.  Woodbury  Pulsifier,  corresponding  secretary 

general. 
Miss  Grace  M.  Pierce,  registrar  general. 
Mrs.  George  K.  Clarke,  historian  general, 
Mrs.  Benjamin  D.  Heath,  director  general  in  charge 
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AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

of  Report  to  Smithsonian  Institution,  Heathcote, 
Charlotte,  N.  C. 

Mrs.  James  M.  Fowler,  librarian  general. 

Miss  Catherine  Brittin  Barlow,  curator  general. 

Headquarters,  Memorial  Continental  Hall,  Seven- 
teenth and  D  Streets,  N.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

WOMEN'S  CHRISTIAN  TEMPERANCE  UNION. 
Miss  Anna  A.  Gordon,  president,  Evanston,  111. 
Mrs.   Ella  A.   Boole,   vice  president-at-large  1429 

Avenue  H,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Mrs.  Frances  P.  Parks,    corresponding    secretary, 

Evanston,  111. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  P.  Anderson,  recording  secretary, 

Fargo,  N.  D. 
Mrs.  Sara  H.  Hoge,  assistant  recording  secretary, 

Lincoln,  Va. 
Mrs.  Margaret  C.  Munns,  treasurer,  Evanston,  111. 
Headquarters,  1730  Chicago  Avenue,  Evanston,  111., 

Hotel  Driscoll,  Washington,  D.  C. 

YOUNG  WOMEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 
—WAR  WORK  COUNCIL 

Mrs.  James  S.  Cushman,  chairman,  New  York  City. 

Mrs.  John  R.  Mott,  vice  chairman,  Montclair,  N.  J. 

Mrs.  John  Meigs,  vice  chairman,  Pottstown,  Pa. 

Mrs.  Henry  P.  Davison,  treasurer.  New  York  City. 

Mrs.  Howard  Morse,  secretary  pro-tem,  Port  Wash- 
ington, L.  I. 

Mrs.  E.  R.  L.  Gould,  chairman  of  committee  on  Ex- 
tension of  Regular  Work,  New  York  City. 

Mrs.  Francis  DeLacy  Hyde,  chairman  of  committee 
on  New  Centers  of  Work,  Plainfield,  N.  J. 
520 


DIRECTORY 

Mrs.    John    R.    Mott,    Chairman    of    Committee 

on  Work  in  Foreign  Countries,  Montclair,  N.  J. 
Mrs.  Robert  Lovett,  chairman    of    committee    on 

Training  of  Workers,  Locust  Valley,  Long  Island. 
Mrs.  Robert  E.  Speer,  chairman  of  committee  on 

Non-Equipment  and  Social  Morality  Work,  En- 

glewood,  N.  J. 
Miss  Elizabeth  French,  chairman  on  committee  on 

Junior  Council,  Basking  Ridge,  N.  J. 
Mrs.  William  Adams  Brown,  chairman  of  commit- 
tee on   Cooperation  and  Publicity,    New    York 

City. 
Mrs.   Herbert   Pratt,   chairman  of  committee    on 

Finance,  Glen  Cove,  Long  Island. 
Mrs.  John  French,  ex-officio  chairman  of  executive 

committee  of  national  board.  New  York  City. 
Miss  Helen  A.   Davis,   ex-officio   executive,   Field 

Work  Department,  New  York  City. 
Miss  Mabel   Cratty,   general    secretary,    National 

Board,  New  York  City. 

NATIONAL    CONGRESS    OF    MOTHERS    AND 
PARENT-TEACHERS'  ASSOCIATION 

Mrs.  Frederic  Schoff,  president,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mrs.  Arthur  A.  Bimey,  corresponding  secretary, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Mrs.  Hubert  N  Rowell,  treasurer,  Berkeley,  Cali- 
fornia. 

Mrs.  David  0.  Mears,  vice  president.  New  York 
City. 

Mrs.  Milton  P.  Higgins,  vice  president,  Worcester, 
Mass. 

Mrs.  Fred  Dick,  vice  president,  Denver,  Colo. 
521 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Mrs.  Eugene  Crutcher,  vice  president,  Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Harrison,  vice  president,  Chicago, 
111. 

Mrs.  Philander  P.  Claxton,  vice  president,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

Mrs.  Charles  McDaris,  vice  president,  St.  Louis, 
Mo. 

Mrs.  J.  C.  Todd,  vice  president,  Tacoma,  Wash. 

Mrs.  A.  H.  Reeve,  vice  president,  Chestnut  Hill, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Mrs.  Chalmers  Hutchinson,  vice  president.  Fort 
Worth,  Texas. 

Mrs.  J.  R.  Francis,  recording  secretary,  Columbus, 
Ohio. 

Mrs.  N.  C.  Bagley,  financial  secretary,  Birming- 
ham, Ala. 

Mrs.  B.  F.  Hardeman,  auditor,  Montgomery,  Ala. 

Mrs.  Giles  S.  Rafter,  historian,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Mrs.  William  T.  Carter,  honorary  vice  president. 

Mrs.  Joseph  P.  Mumford,  honorary  vice  president. 

Mrs.  Robert  R.  Cotton,  honorary  vice  president. 

Mrs.  Harriett  A.  McLellan,  honorary  vice  presi- 
dent. 

Mrs.  E.  A.  Tuttle,  honorary  vice  president. 

Mrs.  W.  F.  Thacher,  honorary  vice  president. 

Mrs.  George  K.  Johnson,  honorary  vice  president. 

Advisory  Council: 

Col.  Theodore  Roosevelt. 
Hon.  P.  P.  Claxton,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Mr.  Roger  M.  McMullen,  Chicago,  111. 
Mr.  Frederic  Schoff,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
522 


DIRECTORY 

G.  Stanley  Hall,  Ph.D.,  Worcester,  Mass. 

Mrs.  Ella  Flagg  Young,  Chicago,  111. 

Dr.  William  P.  Wilson,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hon.  Elmer  Ellsworth  Brown,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Mr.  Dion  Birney,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Mr.  George  K.  Johnson,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

William  E.  Bryan,  Ph.D.,  Bloomington,  Ind. 

COUNCIL  OF  JEWISH  WOMEN— 

Janet  S.  Harris,  (Mrs.  Nathaniel  E.),  president, 
Bradford,  Pa. 

Anna  Hertzberg  (Mrs.  Eli),  1st  vice  president,  San 
Antonio,  Tex. 

Miss  Rose  Brenner,  2nd  vice  president,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y. 

Mrs.  Harry  Edna  K.  Glicksman,  recording  secre- 
tary. New  Haven,  Conn. 

Jenny  K.  Herz  (Mrs.  Leo  H.),  treasurer.  New 
Haven,  Conn. 

Mrs.  Ernestine  B.  Dreyfus,  executive  secretary, 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Honorary  Vice  Presidents  : 

Mrs.  Jacob  H.  Schiff,  New  York  City. 
Mrs.  A.  N.  Cohen,  New  York  City. 
Mrs.  Hugo  Rosenberg,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Mrs.  Solomon  Hirsch,  Portland,  Oregon. 
Mrs.  M.  C.  Sloss,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Mrs.  Caesar  Misch,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Mrs.  Isidore  Newman,  New  Orleans,  La. 

UNITED     STATES     EMPLOYIVIENT     SERVICE, 
Mrs.  Hilda  Mulhauzer  Richards,  assistant  direc- 
tor, Department  of  Labor,  Washington,  D.  C. 
523 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

STATE  DIRECTORY 

ALABAMA : 

Women's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  James  F.  Hooper,  Selma. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
James  F.  Hooper,  Selma. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  John  Lewis  Cobbs,  124  Mobile  Street,  Mont- 
gomery. 

National  League  for  Women's  Service:  Chairman, 
Mrs.  Thomas  Owen. 

United  States  Employment  Service :  Headquarters, 
Federal  Bldg.,  Mobile,  Henry  C.  Brownlow  in 
charge. 

ARIZONA: 

Women 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense : 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Eugene  Brady  O'Neill,  701  N. 
Central  Ave.,  Phoenix. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
H.  A.  Morgan,  Willcox. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  George  F.  Freeman,  641  North  Park  Ave- 
nue, Tucson. 

United  States  Employment  Service:  Headquar- 
ters, 14  Wall  St.,  Phoenix;  Frank  Brown,  acting 
director. 

ARKANSAS: 

Women's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense, 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Joseph  Frauenthal,  Conway. 
524 


DIRECTORY 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
John  I.  Moore,  Helena. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution :  Regent, 
Mrs.  Samuel  P.  Davis,  523  East  Capitol  Avenue, 
Little  Rock. 

United  States  Employment  Service,  Headquarters, 
27  Postoffice  Bldg.,  Little  Rock;  Robert  B.  Keat- 
ing, inspector  in  charge. 

CALIFORNIA: 

Women's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Herbert  A.  Cable,  719  South 
Hill  St.,  Los  Angeles. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
Edward  Dexter  Knight,  238  San  Jose  Ave.,  San 
Francisco. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  John  C.  Lynch,  1845  University  Avenue, 
Berkeley. 

National  League  for  Women's  Service:  Chairman, 
Mrs.  Duncan  McDuffie. 

United  States  Employment  Service,  Headquar- 
ters, Women's  and  Girls'  Division  (Northern 
District)  No.  2  Appraisers'  Bldg.,  San 
Francisco;  Miss  Virginia  H.  Spinks,  acting  su- 
perintendent. (Southern  District)  Post  Office 
Bldg.,  Los  Angeles,  Elizabeth  Blackiston  in 
charge. 

COLORADO : 
Women 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense : 
Chairman,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Kistler,  Room  39  State 
House,  Denver. 

525 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:     President,    Miss 

Adam  J.  Weiss,  Del  Norte. 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:     Regent, 

Mrs.   Gerald  L.   Schuyler,   1244  Detroit  Street, 

Denver. 
National  League  for  Women's  Service:     Chairman, 

Mrs.  J.  B.  Grant. 
United  States  Employment  Service,  Headquarters, 

Women's  and  Girls'  Division,  355  Federal  Bldg., 

Denver,  Katherine  M.  Herring,  clerk  in  charge. 

CONNECTICUT : 

Women's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Miss  Caroline  Ruutz-Rees,  State  Cap- 
itol, Hartford. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
Edward  H.  Smiley,  244  Collins  Street,  Hart- 
ford. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Kegent, 
Mrs.  John  Laidlaw  Buel,  East  Meadows,  Litch- 
field. 

National  League  for  Women's  Service:  Chairman, 
Mrs.  William  E.  D.  Scott. 

United  States  Employment  Service,  Headquarters, 
Hartford, 

DELAWARE : 

Women 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense : 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Charles  R..  Miller,  Wilming- 
ton. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,,  Miss 
Ray  Heidrick,  Bridgeville. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
526 


DIRECTORY 

Mrs.  George  C.  Hall,  706  West  Street,  Wilmiug- 

ton. 
United  States  Employment  Service,  Headquarters, 

Old  Federal  Bldg.,  Wilmington,  A.  G.  Benkhart, 

acting  director. 

DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA: 

Women's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Archibald  Hopkins,  509  Wilkins 
Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
Court  F.  Wood,  311  East  Capital  Street,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  Gains  M.  Brumbaugh,  905  Massachusetts 
Avenue. 

United  States  Employment  Service,  Headquarters, 
Women's  and  Girls'  Division,  Department  of 
Labor,  Washington,  D.  C,  Grace  Porter  Hopkins, 
acting  superintendent. 

FLORIDA: 

Woman 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense : 
Chairman,  Mrs.  William  Hocker,  Ocala. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
W.  S.  Jennings,  Jacksonville. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  Arthur  B.  Gilkes,  Riverside  Avenue,  Jack- 
sonville. 

National  League  for  Women's  Service:  Chairman, 
Mrs.  William  B.  Young. 

United  States  Employment  Service,  Headquarters, 
Federal  Bldg.,  Jacksonville;  Gideon  B.  Travis, 
527 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

inspector,  in  charge.     Sub-branches — Miami,  Key 
West,  Pensacola,  Tampa. 

GEORGIA : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Samuel  N.  Inman,  552  Peach- 
tree  Street,  Atlanta. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
Nellie  Peters  Black,  Atlanta. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  Howard  H.  McCall,  301  Ponce  de  Leon 
Avenue,  Atlanta. 

National  League  for  Women's  Service:  Chairman, 
Mrs.  W.  L.  Peel. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
Custom  House,  Savannah ;  Edgar  T.  Whatley,  in- 
spector, in  charge. 

ILLINOIS: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Joseph  T.  Bowen,  120  West 
Adams  Street,  Chicago. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Miss 
Jessie  I.  Spafford,  401  East  State  Street,  Rock- 
ford. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  Frank  William  Bahnsen,  1720  22nd  Street, 
Rock  Island. 

United  States  Emplojmaent  Service,  Headquarters, 
845  S.  Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago.  Women  and 
Girls'  Division,  Estelle  Barfield,  superintend- 
ent. 


528 


DIRECTORY 

IDAHO  : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  De- 
fense; Chairman,  Mrs.  Samuel  II.  Hays,  612 
Franklin  Street,  Boise. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  M. 
J.  Sweeley,  Twin  Falls. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  Charles  W.  Pureell,  1515  Ada  Street, 
Boise. 

United  States  Emplojonent  Service,  Headquarters, 
Moscow;  Wm.  J.  McConnell,  inspector  in 
charge. 

INDIANA: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Carlisle,  113  S.  Tay- 
lor Street,  South  Bend. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs. 
Carolyn  R.  Fairbank,  310  West  Berry  Street, 
Fort  Wayne. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  Henry  A.  Beck,  1902  N.  New  Jersey  Avenue, 
Indianapolis. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Services;  Chairman, 
Miss  Julia  E.  Landers. 

United  States  Employment  Service,  Headquarters, 
319  Federal  Bldg.,  Indianapolis.  Women  and 
Girls'  Division;  Miss  Morna  Hickam  in  charge. 

IOWA: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Francis  E.  Whitley,  Webster 
City. 

529 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Federation  of  Women's   Clubs;    President,    Mrs. 

Francis  E.  Whitley,  Webster  City. 
Daughters  of  the   American   Revolution;   Regent, 

Mrs.  Dixie  Cornell  Gebhardt,  1205  Second  Street, 

Knoxville. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  F.  J.  Mansfield. 
United  States  Employment  Service,  Headquarters, 

1116  Capitol  Avenue,  Des  Moines. 

KANSAS: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  De- 
fense; Chairman,  Mrs.  David  W.  Mulvane,  To- 
peka. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  J. 
M.  Miller,  Council  Grove. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Miss  Catherine  Campbell,  316  Willow  Street,  Ot- 
tawa. 

KENTUCKY: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Helm  Bruce,  1411  Third  Avenue, 

Louisville. 
Federation  of  Women's    Clubs;    President,    Mrs. 

Morris  W.  Bartlett,  Lawrenceburg. 
Daughters   of  the  American   Revolution;   Regent, 

Mrs.     Ely     Gaither     Boone,     1409     Broadway, 

Paducah. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Miss  Mary  Johnstone. 


530 


DIRECTORY 

LOUISIANA: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Miss  Hilda  Phelps,  Room  206  St. 
Charles  Hotel,  New  Orleans. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs. 
John  Dallas  Wilkinson,  624  Eagan  Street, 
Shreveport. 

Daughters  of  American  Revolution;  Regent,  Mrs. 
Taliaferro  Alexander,  853  Cotton  Street,  Shreve- 
port. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 
Mrs.  Philip  Werlein. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
City  Hall,  New  Orleans;  H.  A.  M.  Jacobsen,  in- 
spector in  charge. 

MAINE : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Frederick  H.  Abbott,  Saco. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Miss 
Grace  A.  Wing,  202  Summer  Street,  Auburn. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  Regent, 
Mrs.  W.  G.  Chapman,  482  Cumberland  Avenue, 
West  End  Station,  Portland. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
Custom  House,  Portland;  Timothy  Elliott,  in- 
spector in  charge. 

MASSACHUSETTS : 

Woman 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense ; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Thayer,  State  House, 
Boston. 

531 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs. 
Herbert  J.  Gumey,  188  Warren  Avenue,  Wollas- 
ton. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  Frank  Dexter  Ellison,  44  Clark  Street,  Bel- 
mont. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 
Miss  Betty  Porter. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquar- 
ters, 53  Canal  Street,  Boston;  H.  A.  Stevens, 
Director  of  Employment.  Sub-branch,  New 
Bedford. 

MARYLAND : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 

Chairman,  Mrs.    Edward    Shoemaker,    518     N. 

Charles  Street,  Baltimore. 
Federation  of    Women's    Clubs;    President,    Mrs. 

Francis    Sanderson,    Piedmont    Avenue,    Wal- 

brook. 
Daughters   of  the  American   Revolution;   Regent, 

Mrs.  Arthur  Lee  Bosley,  1406  Mt.  Royal  Avenue, 

Baltimore. 
United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 

Stewart  Bldg.,  Baltimore;  Women    and    Girls' 

Division,  Nannie  Irvine  in  charge. 

MINNESOTA: 

Woman 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense ; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Winter,  2617  Dean 

Boulevard,  Minneapolis. 
Federation    of  Women's   Clubs,     President,   Mrs. 

William  T.  Coe,  Wayzata. 
532 


DIRECTORY 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;    Regent, 

Mrs.   James  T.   Morris,  2109  Blaisdell  Avenue, 

Minneapolis. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  C.  A.  Severance. 
United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 

Federal  Bldg.,  Minneapolis ;  Charles  W.  Seaman, 

Acting  Director. 

MICHIGAN: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Caroline  Bartlett  Crane,  Kala- 
mazoo. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs. 
Florence  I.  Bulson,  1004  Francis  Street,  Jack- 
son. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  William  Henry  Wait,  1706  Cambridge 
Road,  Ann  Arbor. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 
Miss  Helen  E.  Keep. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
Old  Post  Office  Bldg.,  Detroit;  Benjamin  J. 
Sand,  Acting  Director;  Sub-branch,  Sault  Ste. 
Marie. 

MISSISSIPPI : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Edward  McGehee,  Como. 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  Ed- 
ward McGehee,  Como. 
Daughters  of  the  American   Revolution;   Regent, 
Mrs.  E.  F.  Noel,  Lexington. 
533 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

National  League  for  Woman's  Sen^ice;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  Daisy  McLauren  Stevens. 
United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 

Post  Office  Bldg.,  Gulf  port;  Hunter  M.  Course, 

inspector  in  charge. 

MISSOURI : 
Woman 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense ; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  B.  F.  Bush,  905  Locust  Street, 

St.  Louis. 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam   R.    Chiwis,    4232    West   Pine   Blvd.,    St. 

Louis. 
Daughters   of  the  American  Revolution;   Regent, 

Mrs.  William  R.  Painter,  Jefferson  City. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  J.  F.  Binnie. 
United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 

(Eastern  District)   19  N.  8th  Street,  St.  Louis; 

(Western  District)   804  Grand  Avenue,  Kansas 

City;  Acting  Director  of  Eastern  District,  W.  R. 

King;  Acting  Director  of  Western  Division,  A. 

L.  Barkman. 

MONTANA: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Tyler  B.  Thompson,  Mis- 
soula. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  E. 
L.  Houston,  Bozeman. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  Charles  A.  Blackburn,  809  West  Silver 
Street,  Butte. 

534 


DIRECTORY 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
Power  Building,  Helena;  Charles  K.  Andrews, 
acting  director. 

NEBRASKA : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 

Chairman,  Miss  Sarka  B.  Hrbkova,  308  Frater- 

ity  Bldg.,  Lincoln. 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  J. 

N.  Paul,  St.  Paul. 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;   Regent, 

Mrs.  Ellet  Grant  Drake,  606  North  6th  Street, 

Beatrice. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  W.  G.  L.  Taylor. 
United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 

County  Court  House,  Omaha;  M.  A.  Coykendall, 

inspector  in  charge. 

NEVADA: 

Woman 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense ; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Pearis  Buckner  Ellis,    Carson 

City. 
Federation    of   Women's    Clubs;    President,    Mrs. 

P.    B.    Ells,    116    N.    Carson    Street,    Carson 

City. 
Daughters   of  the   American   Revolution ;   Regent, 

Mrs.  Charles  Silvey  Sprague,  Goldfield. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  Hugh  Brown. 
United  States  Emplojnnent  Service;  Headquarters, 

Reno ;  Neil  McGee,  inspector  in  charge. 
535 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Mary  I.  Wood,  Portsmouth,  P. 

0.  Drawer  88. 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;    President,    Mrs. 

Frederick  J.  Shepard,  East  Derry. 
Daughters  of  the   American  Revolution;   Regent, 

Miss  Will  Bernard  Howe,    Huntwood    Terrace, 

Concord. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  William  H.  Schofield. 

NEW  JERSEY: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Stockton,  Ridge- 
wood. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs. 
Charles  W.  Stockton,  Ridgewood. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  William  Dusenberry  Sherrerd,  Highland 
Avenue,  Haddonfield. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
9  Franklin  Street,  Newark;  Women  and  Girls' 
Division,  Margarette  Neale,  Acting  Superin- 
tendent. 

NEW  MEXICO: 
Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Washington    E.    Lindsey,    San- 
ta Fe. 
Federation    of    Women's    Clubs;    President,  Mrs. 

George  E.  Ladd,  ^Mesilla  Park. 
Daughters   of  the  American   Revolution;   Regent, 
536 


DIRECTORY 

Mrs.    Singleton    M.    Ashenfelter,    702    Bayard 
Street,  Silver  City. 
United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
261  San  Francisco  Street,  Santa  Fe;  Karl  W. 
Greene,  acting  director. 

NEW  YORK: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  William  Grant  Brown,  Hotel 
Astor,  2350  Broadway,  New  York  City. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam Grant  Brown,  Bretton  Hall,  Broadway  and 
86th  Street,  New  York  City. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  Benjamin  F.  Spraker,  Palatine  Bridge. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 
Mrs.  Alexander  Trowbridge. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
Room  8  U.  S.  Barge  Office,  New  York  City ;  P.  A. 
Donohue,  Director;  Sub-branch,  Room  8  Federal 
Bldg.,  Buffalo ;  22  East  22nd  Street,  Mrs.  Hilda 
Mulhauzer  Richards  in  charge. 

NORTH  CAROLINA: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Eugene  Reilley,  Charlotte. 
Federation  of  Women's    Clubs;    President,    Mrs. 

Thomas  W.  Lingle,  Davidson. 
Daughters  of  the    American    Revolution;    Regent, 

Mrs.  Theodore  S.  Morrison,  287  Pearson    Drive, 

Asheville. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  Lindsay  Patterson. 
537 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

NORTH  DAKOTA: 

Woman 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense ; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Mary  Darrow  Weible,  Fargo. 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  H. 

G.  Vick,  Cavalier. 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;   Regent, 

Mrs.  George  Morley  Young,  Valley  City. 

OHIO: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  George  Zimmerman,  224  Birch- 
ard  Street,  Fremont. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs. 
George  Zimmerman,  224  Birchard  Street,  Fre- 
mont. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  Edward  Lansing  Harris,  6719  Euclid  Av- 
enue, Cleveland. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 
Mrs.  George  Hoadley. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
Post  Office  Bldg.,  Cleveland;  J.  A.  Fluekey, 
acting  director. 

OKLAHOMA: 
Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Eugene  B.  Lawson,  518  Osage 

Street,  Wowata. 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  Tom 

Hope,  Ada.  ; 

Daughters  of  the  American    Revolution;    Regent, 

Mrs.  Walter  D.   Elrod,  900  N.  Grand  Avenue, 

Okmulgee. 

538 


DIRECTORY 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 
Mrs.  S.  W.  Parish. 

OREGON: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Castner,  Hood 
River. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs. 
Charles  H.  Castner,  Hood  River. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  Isaac  L.  Patterson,  Eola  Road,  Salem. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
249  Ankeny  St.,  Portland;  R.  P.  Bonham,  di- 
rector. 

RHODE  ISLAND : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 

Chairman,   Mrs.    Rush    Sturges,     State    House, 

Providence. 
Federation  of  Women's   Clubs;    President,    Mrs. 

Horace  G.  Bissell,  East  Greenwich. 
Daughters  of   the    American   Revolution;    Regent, 

Mrs.    Albert    L.    Calder,    Second,    35  S.  Angell 

Street,  Providence. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  Rush  Sturges. 
United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 

222  Federal  Bldg.,  Providence;  James  A.  Sul- 
livan, inspector. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense; 
Chairman,  Mrs.  F.  Louise  ^layes,  Greenville. 
539 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs.  J. 
L.  Coker,  Jr.,  Hartsville. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;  Regent, 
Mrs.  E.  Walker,  Duvall,  Cheraw. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 
Miss  Jane  Evans. 

United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 
Custom  House,  Charleston;  W.  V.  Howard,  act- 
ing director. 

PENNSYLVANIA: 

Woman 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense ; 

Chairman,  Mrs.  J.  Willis  Martin,  1607  Walnut 

Street,  Philadelphia. 
Federation  of  Women's   Clubs;    President,    Mrs. 

Ronald      P.      Gleason,      947      Clay      Avenue, 

Scranton. 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution;    Regent, 

Mrs.    Anthony    Wayne    Cook,    Hotel    Schenley, 

Pittsburgh. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  Edgar  W.  Baird. 
United  States  Employment  Service;  Headquarters, 

132  S.  Third  Street,  Philadelphia;  J.  L.  Hughes, 

acting  director. 

SOUTH  DAKOTA: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Dr.  Helen  F.  Peabody,  Sioux 
Falls. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
Gertrude  B.  Gunderson,  Vermillion. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
540 


DIRECTORY 

Mrs.  E.   St.  Claire  Snyder,  617   Second  Street, 
Watertown. 
National    League    for    Woman's    Service:     Chair- 
man, Mrs.  J.  E.  Bird. 

TENNESSEE: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  George  W.  Denney,  Knoxville. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs. 
George  W.  Denney,  Knoxville. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  Thomas  Polk,  583  East  Main  Street,  Jack- 
son. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service :  Chairman, 
Mrs.  Jesse  Overton. 

United  States  Employment  Service:  Headquar- 
ters, Post  Office  Bldg.,  Memphis;  J.  H.  Ware, 
Inspector. 

TEXAS : 

Woman 's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense : 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Fred  Fleming,  1934  N.  Carroll 
Avenue,  Dallas. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  President,  Mrs. 
Fred  Fleming,  1934  N.  Carroll  Avenue, 
Dallas. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  James  Lowry  Smith,  1101  Taylor  Street, 
Amarillo. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service:  Chair- 
man, Mrs.  Walter  B.  Sharpe. 

United  States  Employment  Service:  Headquar- 
ters, (Southern  District),  American  National  In- 
541 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

surance  Company  Bldg.,  Galveston;  James  B. 
Bryan,  Acting  Director.  (Western  District),  El 
Paso;  Perry  P.  Young,  Inspector  in  Charge. 
(Northern  District),  Fort  Worth;  William  H. 
Robb,  Inspector  in  Charge.  Sub-branches,  Hous- 
ton, Brownsville,  Laredo,  Eagle  Pass,  San  An- 
tonio, San  Angelo,  Del  Rio,  Big  Spring, 
Amarillo. 

UTAH: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  W.  N.  Williams,  Bishop  Bldg., 
Salt  Lake  City. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
Edward  Bichsel,  718  25th  Street,  Ogden. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  L.  C.  Miller,  943  East  First  South  Street, 
Salt  Lake  City. 

United  States  Employment  Service:  Headquar- 
ters, Federal  Bldg.,  Salt  Lake  City;  D.  Arthur 
Plumly,  Acting  Director. 

VERMONT : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 

Chairman,  Mrs.  John  E.  Weeks,  93  Maple  Street, 

Middlebury. 
Federation   of   Women's   Clubs:     President,   Mrs. 

Robert  E.  Smith,  White  River  Junction. 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:     Regent, 

Mrs.  Edward  Sprague  Marsh,  Brandon. 
National  League  for  Woman's  Service;  Chairman, 

Mrs.  Thornton  F.  Turner. 
542 


DIRECTORY 

VIRGINIA: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  B.  B.  Munford,  603  E.  Grace 
Street,  Richmond. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Miss 
Helen  Norris  Cummings,  606  Cameron  Street, 
Alexandria. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Miss  Alethea  Serpell,  902  Westover  Avenue,  Nor- 
folk. 

National  League  for  Woman's  Service :  Chairman, 
Mrs.  William  W.  Sale. 

United  States  Emplo^Tnent  Service:  Headquar- 
ters, 119  West  Main  Street,  Norfolk;  W.  R.  Mor- 
ton, Inspector  in  Charge. 

WASHINGTON: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Winfield  R.  Smith,  107  Cobb 
Bldg.,  Seattle. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
Solon  Shedd,  Pullman. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  Overton  Gentry  Ellis,  1609  Water  Street, 
Olympia. 

National  League  for  Woman 's  Service :  Chairman, 
Mrs.  Winfield  Smith. 

United  States  Employment  Service:  Headquar- 
ters, 1st  Avenue  &  Union  Street,  Seattle;  Law- 
rence Wood,  Acting  Director;  Sub-branches,  Spo- 
kane, Walla  Walla,  Tacoma,  Aberdeen,  Everett, 
Bellingham,  North  Yakima,  Friday  Harbor, 
543 


AMERICAN  WOMEN  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Nooksack,  Lynden,  Custer,  Port  Townsend,  Port 
Angeles. 

WISCONSIN: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Henry  H.  Morgan,  State  House, 
Madison. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs.  L. 
D.  Harvey,  Menomie. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  John  P.  Hume,  539  Terrace  Avenue,  Mil- 
waukee. 

National  League  for  Woman 's  Service :  Chairman, 
Mrs.  John  W.  Mariner. 

United  States  Employment  Service:  Headquar- 
ters, 809  Manufacturer's  Home  Building,  Mil- 
waukee ;  J.  C.  Hise,  Inspector  in  Charge. 

WEST  VIRGINIA: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  Joseph  G.  Cochran,  1016  Market 
Street,  Parkersburg. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs. 
Joseph  G.  Cochran,  1016  Market  Street,  Parkers- 
burg. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  Linn  Brannon,  236  Center  Avenue, 
Weston. 

WYOMING: 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 
Chairman,  Mrs.  R.  A.  Morton,  Cheyenne. 

Federation  of  Women's  Clubs:  President,  Mrs.  R. 
A.  Morton,  Cheyenne. 

544 


DIRECTORY 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution:  Regent, 
Mrs.  Edward  Gillette,  Sheridan. 

United  States  Employment  Service:  Headquar- 
ters, Cheyenne. 

ALASKA : 

Woman's  Committee,  Council  of  National  Defense: 

Chairman,  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Donohoe,  Valdez. 
Federation    of   Women's    Clubs:     President,    Mrs. 

Thomas  J.  Donohue,  Valdez. 

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